Public Act 102-0604
 
HB3100 EnrolledLRB102 11784 KTG 17119 b


  
    AN ACT concerning children.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  
 
 
    Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is 
amended  by changing Section 4 as follows:
 

    (325 ILCS 5/4)

   
    Sec. 4. Persons required to report; privileged 
communications;
transmitting false report.  
    (a) The following persons are required to immediately 
report to the Department when they have reasonable cause to 
believe that a child known to them in their professional or 
official capacities may be an abused child or a neglected 
child: 
        (1) Medical personnel, including any: physician 
    licensed to practice medicine in any of its branches 
    (medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy); resident; 
    intern; medical administrator or personnel engaged in the 
    examination, care, and treatment of persons; psychiatrist; 
    surgeon; dentist; dental hygienist; chiropractic 
    physician; podiatric physician; physician assistant; 
    emergency medical technician; acupuncturist; registered 
    nurse; licensed practical nurse; advanced practice 
    registered nurse; genetic counselor; respiratory care 
    practitioner; home health aide; or certified nursing 
    assistant. 
        (2) Social services and mental health personnel, 
    including any: licensed professional counselor; licensed 
    clinical professional counselor; licensed social worker; 
    licensed clinical social worker; licensed psychologist or 
    assistant working under the direct supervision of a 
    psychologist; associate licensed marriage and family 
    therapist; licensed marriage and family therapist; field 
    personnel of the Departments of Healthcare and Family 
    Services, Public Health, Human Services, Human Rights, or 
    Children and Family Services; supervisor or administrator 
    of the General Assistance program established under 
    Article VI of the Illinois Public Aid Code; social 
    services administrator; or substance abuse treatment 
    personnel. 
        (3) Crisis intervention personnel, including any: 
    crisis line or hotline personnel; or  domestic violence 
    program personnel.
        (4)
Education personnel, including any: school 
    personnel (including administrators and certified and 
    non-certified school employees); personnel of institutions 
    of higher education; educational advocate assigned to a 
    child in accordance with 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 under subsection (d)); or truant officer.
        (5)
Recreation or athletic program or facility 
    personnel.
        (6)
Child care personnel, including any: early 
    intervention provider as defined in the Early Intervention 
    Services System Act; director or staff assistant of a 
    nursery school or a child day care center; or foster 
    parent, homemaker, or child care worker.
        (7)
Law enforcement personnel, including any: law 
    enforcement officer; field personnel of the Department of 
    Juvenile Justice; field personnel of the Department of 
    Corrections; probation officer; or animal control officer 
    or field investigator of the Department of Agriculture's 
    Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare.
        (8)
Any funeral home director; funeral home director 
    and embalmer; funeral home employee; coroner; or medical 
    examiner.
        (9)
Any member of the clergy. 
        (10) Any physician, physician assistant, registered 
    nurse, licensed practical nurse, medical technician, 
    certified nursing assistant, licensed social worker, 
    licensed clinical social worker, or licensed professional 
    counselor of any office, clinic, or any other physical 
    location that provides abortions, abortion referrals, or 
    contraceptives. 
    (b) When 2 or more persons who work within the same 
workplace and are required to report under this Act share a 
reasonable cause to believe that a child may be an abused or 
neglected child, one of those reporters may be designated to 
make a single report. The report shall include the names and 
contact information for the other mandated reporters sharing 
the reasonable cause to believe that a child may be an abused 
or neglected child. The designated reporter must provide 
written confirmation of the report to those mandated reporters 
within 48 hours. If confirmation is not provided, those 
mandated reporters are individually responsible for 
immediately ensuring a report is made. Nothing in this Section 
precludes or may be used to preclude any person from reporting 
child abuse or child neglect. 
    (c)(1) As used in this Section, "a child known to them in 
their professional or official capacities" means:
        (A) the mandated reporter comes into contact with the 
    child in the course of the reporter's employment or 
    practice of a profession, or through a regularly scheduled 
    program, activity, or service;
        (B)  the mandated reporter is affiliated with an 
    agency, institution, organization, school, school 
    district, regularly established church or religious 
    organization, or other entity that is directly responsible 
    for the care, supervision, guidance, or training of the 
    child; or
        (C) a person makes a specific disclosure to the 
    mandated reporter that an identifiable child is the victim 
    of child abuse or child neglect, and the disclosure 
    happens while the mandated reporter is engaged in his or 
    her employment or practice of a profession, or in a 
    regularly scheduled program, activity, or service. 
    (2) Nothing in this Section requires a child to come 
before the mandated reporter in order for the reporter to make 
a report of suspected child abuse or child neglect. 


    (d) 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 
requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of child 
abuse.

    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 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.

    (e) 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,
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.

    (f) In addition to the persons required to report 
suspected cases of child abuse or child neglect under this 
Section, 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. 
    (g) 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

neglected children and shall not constitute grounds for 
failure to report
as required by this Act or constitute 
grounds for 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. 

    The reporting requirements of this Act shall not apply to 
the contents of a privileged communication between an attorney 
and his or her client or to confidential information within 
the meaning of Rule 1.6 of the Illinois Rules of Professional 
Conduct relating to the legal representation of an individual 
client. 
    A member of the clergy may claim the privilege under 
Section 8-803 of the
Code of Civil Procedure.

    (h) 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.

    (i) Any person who enters into
employment on and after 
July 1, 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
and understanding of the reporting requirements 
of this Act.  On and after January 1, 2019, the statement
shall 
also include information about available mandated reporter 
training provided by the Department. 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.

    (j) Persons required to report child abuse or child 
neglect as provided under this Section must complete an 
initial mandated reporter training, including a section on 
implicit bias, within 3 months of their date of engagement in a 
professional or official capacity as a mandated reporter, or 
within the time frame of any other applicable State law that 
governs training requirements for a specific profession, and 
at least every 3 years thereafter. The initial requirement 
only applies to the first time they engage in their 
professional or official capacity. In lieu of training every 3 
years, medical personnel, as listed in paragraph (1) of 
subsection (a), must meet the requirements described in 
subsection (k).
    The mandated reporter trainings shall be in-person or 
web-based, and shall include, at a minimum, information on the 
following topics: (i) indicators for recognizing child abuse 
and child neglect, as defined under this Act; (ii) the process 
for reporting suspected child abuse and child neglect in 
Illinois as required by this Act and the required 
documentation; (iii) responding to a child in a 
trauma-informed manner; and (iv) understanding the response of 
child protective services and the role of the reporter after a 
call has been made. Child-serving organizations are encouraged 
to provide in-person annual trainings. 
    The implicit bias section shall be in-person or web-based, 
and shall include, at a minimum, information on the following 
topics: (i) implicit bias and (ii) racial and ethnic 
sensitivity. As used in this subsection, "implicit bias" means 
the attitudes or internalized stereotypes that affect people's 
perceptions, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner 
and that exist and often contribute to unequal treatment of 
people based on race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual 
orientation, age, disability, and other characteristics. The 
implicit bias section shall provide tools to adjust automatic 
patterns of thinking and ultimately eliminate discriminatory 
behaviors. During these trainings mandated reporters shall 
complete the following: (1) a pretest to assess baseline 
implicit bias levels; (2) an implicit bias training task; and 
(3) a posttest to reevaluate bias levels after training. The 
implicit bias curriculum for mandated reporters shall be 
developed within one year after the effective date of this 
amendatory Act of the 102nd General Assembly and shall be 
created in consultation with organizations demonstrating 
expertise and or experience in the areas of implicit bias, 
youth and adolescent developmental issues, prevention of child 
abuse, exploitation, and neglect, culturally diverse family 
systems, and the child welfare system. 
    The mandated reporter training, including a section on 
implicit bias, shall be provided through the Department, 
through an entity authorized to provide continuing education 
for professionals licensed through the Department of Financial 
and Professional Regulation, the State Board of Education, the 
Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board, or the 
Department of  State Police, or through an organization 
approved by the Department to provide mandated reporter 
training, including a section on implicit bias.  The Department 
must make available a free web-based training for reporters. 
    Each mandated reporter shall report to his or her employer 
and, when applicable, to his or her licensing or certification 
board that he or she received the mandated reporter training. 
The mandated reporter shall maintain records of completion. 
    Beginning January 1, 2021, if a mandated reporter receives 
licensure from the Department of Financial and Professional 
Regulation or the State Board of Education, and his or her 
profession has continuing education requirements, the training 
mandated under this Section shall count toward meeting the 
licensee's required continuing education hours.
    (k)(1) Medical personnel, as listed in paragraph (1) of 
subsection (a), who work with children in their professional 
or official capacity, must complete mandated reporter training 
at least every 6 years.  Such medical personnel, if licensed, 
must attest at each time of licensure renewal on their renewal 
form that they understand they are a mandated reporter of 
child abuse and neglect, that they are aware of the process for 
making a report, that they know how to respond to a child in a 
trauma-informed manner, and that they are aware of the role of 
child protective services and the role of a reporter after a 
call has been made. 
    (2) In lieu of repeated training, medical personnel, as 
listed in paragraph (1) of subsection (a), who do not work with 
children in their professional or official capacity, may 
instead attest each time at licensure renewal on their renewal 
form that they understand they are a mandated reporter of 
child abuse and neglect, that they are aware of the process for 
making a report, that they know how to respond to a child in a 
trauma-informed manner, and that they are aware of the role of 
child protective services and the role of a reporter after a 
call has been made. Nothing in this paragraph precludes 
medical personnel from completing mandated reporter training 
and receiving continuing education credits for that training. 
    (l) 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.

    (m) 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 
2012. A violation of this provision is a Class 4 felony.

    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

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
prosecution, the
person is guilty of a Class 4 felony 
for a first offense and a Class 3 felony
for a second or

subsequent offense (regardless of whether the second or 
subsequent offense
involves any
of the same facts or persons 
as the first or other prior offense).

    (n) 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.

    (o) 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.

    (p) 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.
    (q) 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. 
    (r) For purposes of this Section "child abuse or neglect" 
includes abuse or neglect of an adult resident as defined in 
this Act. 
(Source: P.A. 100-513, eff. 1-1-18; 100-1071, eff. 1-1-19; 
101-564, eff. 1-1-20.)