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| Public Act 101-0147 | ||||
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AN ACT concerning courts.
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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 Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by | ||||
changing Section 1-5 as follows:
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(705 ILCS 405/1-5) (from Ch. 37, par. 801-5)
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Sec. 1-5. Rights of parties to proceedings.
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(1) Except as provided in this Section and paragraph (2) of | ||||
Sections
2-22, 3-23, 4-20, 5-610 or 5-705, the minor who is the | ||||
subject of the
proceeding
and his or her parents, guardian, | ||||
legal custodian or responsible relative who are
parties | ||||
respondent have the right to be present, to be heard, to | ||||
present
evidence material to the proceedings, to cross-examine | ||||
witnesses, to
examine pertinent court files and records and | ||||
also, although proceedings
under this Act are not intended to | ||||
be adversary in character, the right to
be represented by | ||||
counsel. At the request of any party financially unable
to | ||||
employ counsel, with the exception of a foster parent permitted | ||||
to
intervene under this Section, the court shall appoint the | ||||
Public Defender or
such other counsel as the case may require.
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Counsel appointed for the minor and any indigent party shall | ||||
appear at all
stages of the trial court proceeding, and such | ||||
appointment shall continue
through the permanency hearings and
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termination of parental rights proceedings subject to | ||
withdrawal, vacating of appointment, or
substitution pursuant | ||
to Supreme Court Rules or the Code of Civil Procedure.
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Following the dispositional hearing, the court may require | ||
appointed counsel,
other than counsel for the minor or counsel | ||
for the guardian ad litem,
to withdraw his or her appearance | ||
upon failure of the party for whom counsel
was appointed under | ||
this Section to attend any subsequent proceedings.
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No hearing on any petition or motion filed under this Act | ||
may be
commenced unless
the minor who is the subject of the | ||
proceeding is represented by counsel.
Notwithstanding the | ||
preceding sentence, if a guardian ad litem has been
appointed | ||
for the minor under Section 2-17 of this
Act and the guardian | ||
ad litem is a licensed attorney at law of this State, or
in the | ||
event that a court appointed special advocate has been | ||
appointed as
guardian ad litem and counsel has been appointed | ||
to represent the court
appointed special advocate, the
court | ||
may not require the appointment of counsel to represent the
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minor unless the court finds that the minor's interests are in | ||
conflict with
what the guardian ad litem determines to be in | ||
the best interest of the
minor. Each
adult respondent shall be | ||
furnished a written "Notice of Rights" at
or before the first | ||
hearing at which he or she appears.
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(1.5) The Department shall maintain
a system of response to | ||
inquiry made by parents or putative
parents as to whether their | ||
child is under the custody or guardianship of the
Department; | ||
and if so, the Department shall direct the parents or putative
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parents to the appropriate court of jurisdiction, including | ||
where inquiry may
be made of the clerk of the court regarding | ||
the case number and the next
scheduled court date of the | ||
minor's case.
Effective notice and the means of accessing | ||
information shall be given to the
public on a continuing basis
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by the
Department.
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(2) (a) Though not appointed guardian or legal custodian or | ||
otherwise made
a party to the proceeding, any current or | ||
previously appointed foster parent
or relative caregiver, or | ||
representative of an agency or association
interested in the | ||
minor has
the right to be heard by the court, but does not | ||
thereby become a party
to the proceeding.
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In addition to the foregoing right to be heard by the | ||
court, any current
foster parent or relative caregiver of a | ||
minor and the agency designated
by the court or the
Department | ||
of Children and Family Services as custodian of the minor who
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is alleged to be or has been adjudicated an abused or neglected | ||
minor under
Section 2-3 or a
dependent minor under Section 2-4 | ||
of this Act has the right to and shall be
given adequate notice | ||
at all stages of any hearing or proceeding under this
Act.
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Any foster parent or relative caregiver who is denied his | ||
or her
right to be heard under this
Section may bring a | ||
mandamus action under Article XIV of the Code of Civil
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Procedure against the court or any public agency to enforce | ||
that right. The
mandamus action may be brought immediately upon | ||
the denial of those rights but
in no event later than 30 days | ||
after the foster parent has been denied the
right to be heard.
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(b) If after an adjudication that a minor is abused or | ||
neglected as provided
under Section 2-21 of this Act and a | ||
motion has been
made to restore the
minor to any parent, | ||
guardian, or legal custodian found by the court to have
caused | ||
the neglect or to have inflicted the abuse on the minor, a | ||
foster parent
may file a motion to intervene in the proceeding | ||
for
the sole purpose of
requesting that the minor be placed | ||
with the foster parent, provided that the
foster parent (i) is | ||
the current foster parent of the minor or (ii) has
previously | ||
been a foster parent for the minor for one year or more, has a
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foster care license or is eligible for a license or is not | ||
required to have a license, and is not the subject of any
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findings of abuse or neglect of any child. The juvenile court | ||
may only enter
orders placing a minor with a specific foster | ||
parent under this subsection
(2)(b) and nothing in this Section | ||
shall be construed to confer any
jurisdiction or authority on | ||
the juvenile court to issue any other orders
requiring the | ||
appointed guardian or custodian of a minor to place the minor | ||
in
a designated foster home or facility. This Section is not | ||
intended to
encompass any matters that are within the
scope or | ||
determinable under the administrative and appeal process | ||
established
by rules of the Department of Children and Family | ||
Services under Section
5(o) of the Children and Family Services | ||
Act. Nothing in this Section shall
relieve the court of its | ||
responsibility, under Section 2-14(a) of
this Act to act in a | ||
just and speedy manner to reunify families where it is
the best | ||
interests of the minor and the child can be cared for at home
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without endangering the child's health or safety and, if | ||
reunification is not
in the best
interests of the minor, to | ||
find another permanent home for the minor. Nothing
in this | ||
Section, or in any order issued by the court with respect to | ||
the
placement of a minor with a foster parent, shall impair the | ||
ability of the
Department of Children and Family Services, or | ||
anyone else authorized under
Section 5 of the Abused and | ||
Neglected Child Reporting Act, to remove a minor
from the home | ||
of a foster parent if the Department of Children and Family
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Services or the person removing the minor has reason to believe | ||
that the
circumstances or conditions of the minor are such that | ||
continuing in the
residence or care of the foster parent will | ||
jeopardize the child's health and
safety or present an imminent | ||
risk of harm to that
minor's life.
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(c) If a foster parent has had the minor who is the subject | ||
of the
proceeding under Article II in his or her home for more | ||
than one year on or
after July 3, 1994 and if the minor's
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placement is being terminated from that foster parent's home, | ||
that foster
parent shall have standing and intervenor status | ||
except in those
circumstances where the Department of Children | ||
and Family Services or anyone
else authorized under Section 5 | ||
of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act
has removed the | ||
minor from the foster parent because of a reasonable belief
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that the circumstances or conditions of the minor are such that | ||
continuing in
the residence or care of the foster parent will | ||
jeopardize the child's health
or safety or presents an imminent | ||
risk of harm to
the minor's life.
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(d) The court may grant standing to any foster parent
if | ||
the court finds that it is in the best interest of the child | ||
for the foster
parent to have standing and intervenor status.
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(3) Parties respondent are entitled to notice in compliance | ||
with Sections
2-15 and 2-16, 3-17 and 3-18, 4-14 and 4-15 or | ||
5-525 and 5-530, as appropriate.
At the first appearance before | ||
the court by the minor, his
parents, guardian, custodian or | ||
responsible relative, the court shall explain
the nature of the | ||
proceedings and inform the parties of their rights under the
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first 2 paragraphs of this Section.
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If the child is alleged to be abused, neglected or | ||
dependent, the court
shall
admonish the parents that if the | ||
court declares the child to be a ward of the
court and
awards | ||
custody or guardianship to the Department of Children and | ||
Family
Services, the parents must cooperate with the Department | ||
of Children and Family
Services, comply with the terms of the | ||
service plans, and correct the
conditions that require the | ||
child to be in care, or risk termination of their
parental | ||
rights.
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Upon an adjudication of wardship of
the court under | ||
Sections 2-22, 3-23, 4-20 or 5-705, the court shall inform
the | ||
parties of their right to appeal therefrom as well as from any | ||
other
final judgment of the court.
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When the court finds that a child is an abused, neglected, | ||
or dependent
minor under
Section 2-21, the court shall admonish | ||
the parents that the parents must
cooperate with
the Department | ||
of Children and Family Services, comply with the terms of the
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service plans, and correct the conditions that require the | ||
child to be in care,
or risk termination of
their parental
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rights.
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When the court declares a child to be a ward of the court | ||
and awards
guardianship to the Department of Children and | ||
Family Services under Section
2-22, the court shall admonish | ||
the parents,
guardian,
custodian, or responsible relative that | ||
the parents must cooperate with the
Department of Children and | ||
Family Services, comply
with the terms of the service plans, | ||
and correct the conditions that require
the child to be in | ||
care, or risk termination of their parental
rights.
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(4) No sanction may be applied against the minor who is the | ||
subject of
the proceedings by reason of his refusal or failure | ||
to testify in the course
of any hearing held prior to final | ||
adjudication under Section 2-22, 3-23, 4-20
or 5-705.
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(5) In the discretion of the court, the minor may be | ||
excluded from any
part or parts of a dispositional hearing and, | ||
with the consent of the parent
or parents, guardian, counsel or | ||
a guardian ad litem, from any part or parts
of an adjudicatory | ||
hearing.
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(6) The general public except for the news media and the | ||
crime victim, as defined in Section 3 of the Rights of Crime | ||
Victims and Witnesses Act, shall be
excluded from any hearing | ||
and, except for the persons specified in this
Section only | ||
persons, including representatives of agencies and
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associations, who in the opinion of the court have a direct | ||
interest in the
case or in the work of the court shall be | ||
admitted to the hearing. However,
the court may, for the | ||
minor's safety and protection and for good cause
shown,
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prohibit any person or agency present in court from further | ||
disclosing the
minor's identity.
Nothing in this subsection (6) | ||
prevents the court from allowing other
juveniles to be present | ||
or to participate in a court session being held
under the | ||
Juvenile Drug Court Treatment Act.
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(7) A party shall not be entitled to exercise the right to | ||
a substitution
of a judge without cause under subdivision | ||
(a)(2) of Section 2-1001 of the Code
of Civil Procedure in a | ||
proceeding under this Act if the judge is currently
assigned to | ||
a proceeding involving the alleged abuse, neglect, or | ||
dependency of
the minor's sibling or half sibling and that | ||
judge has made a substantive
ruling in the proceeding involving | ||
the minor's sibling or half sibling.
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(Source: P.A. 98-249, eff. 1-1-14.)
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