Public Act 102-0763
 
HB4304 EnrolledLRB102 19928 KTG 28706 b


  
    AN ACT concerning State government.
  
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:
  


 
    Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended  
by adding Section 5.26 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 505/5.26 new)
    Sec. 5.26. Foster children; exit interviews. 
    (a) Unless clinically contraindicated, the Department 
shall ensure that an exit interview is conducted with every 
child age 5 and over who leaves a foster home.
        (1) The interview shall be conducted by a caseworker, 
    mental health provider, or clinician from the Department's 
    Division of Clinical Practice.
        (2) The interview shall be conducted within 5 days of 
    the child's removal from the home.
        (3) The interviewer shall comply with the provisions 
    of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act if the 
    child discloses abuse or neglect as defined by that Act.
        (4) The interviewer shall immediately inform the 
    licensing agency if the child discloses any information 
    that would constitute a potential licensing violation.
        (5) Documentation of the interview shall be (i) 
    maintained in the foster parent's licensing file, (ii) 
    maintained in the child's case file, (iii) included in the 
    service plan for the child, and (iv) and provided to the 
    child's guardian ad litem and attorney appointed under 
    Section 2-17 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
        (6) The determination that an interview in compliance 
    with this Section is clinically contraindicated shall be 
    made by the caseworker, in consultation with the child's 
    mental health provider, if any, and the caseworker's 
    supervisor.  If the child does not have a mental health 
    provider, the caseworker shall request a consultation with 
    the Department's Division of Clinical Practice regarding 
    whether an interview is clinically contraindicated.    The 
    decision and the basis for the decision shall be 
    documented in writing and shall be (i) maintained in the 
    foster parent's licensing file, (ii) maintained in the 
    child's case file, and (iii) attached as part of the 
    service plan for the child.
        (7) The information gathered during the interview 
    shall be dependent on the age and maturity of the child and 
    the circumstances of the child's removal. The 
    interviewer's observations and any information relevant to 
    understanding the child's responses shall be recorded on 
    the interview form.  At a minimum, the interview shall 
    address the following areas:
            (A) How the child's basic needs were met in the 
        home: who prepared food and was there sufficient food; 
        whether the child had appropriate clothing; sleeping 
        arrangements; supervision appropriate to the child's 
        age and special needs; was the child enrolled in 
        school; and did the child receive the support needed 
        to complete his or her school work.
            (B) Access to caseworker, therapist, or guardian 
        ad litem: whether the child was able to contact these 
        professionals and how.
            (C) Safety and comfort in the home: how did the 
        child feel in the home; was the foster parent 
        affirming of the child's identity; did anything happen 
        that made the child happy; did anything happen that 
        was scary or sad; what happened when the child did 
        something he or she should not have  done; if relevant, 
        how does the child think the foster parent felt about 
        the child's family of origin, including parents and 
        siblings; and was the foster parent supportive of the 
        permanency goal.
            (D) Normalcy: whether the child felt included in 
        the family; whether the child participated in 
        extracurricular activities; whether the foster parent 
        participated in planning for the child, including 
        child and family team meetings and school meetings.
    (b) The Department shall develop procedures, including an 
interview form, no later than January 1, 2023, to implement 
this Section.
    (c) Beginning July 1, 2023 and quarterly thereafter, the 
Department shall post on its webpage a report summarizing the 
details of the exit interviews.
 
    Section 10. The Child Care Act of 1969 is amended  by 
changing Sections 2.22a and 4 as follows:
 
    (225 ILCS 10/2.22a)
    Sec. 2.22a. Quality of care concerns applicant. "Quality 
of care concerns applicant" means an applicant for a foster 
care license or renewal of a foster care license where the 
applicant or any person living in the applicant's household: 
        (1) has had a license issued under this Act revoked;
        (2) has surrendered a license issued under this Act 
    for cause;
        (3) has had a license issued under this Act expire or 
    has surrendered a license, while either an abuse or 
    neglect investigation or licensing investigation was 
    pending or an involuntary placement hold was placed on the 
    home;
        (4) has been the subject of allegations of abuse or 
    neglect;
        (5) has an indicated report of abuse or neglect; or
        (6) has been the subject of certain types of 
    involuntary placement holds or has been involved in 
    certain types of substantiated licensing complaints, as 
    specified and defined by Department rule; or . 

        (7) has requested a youth in care's removal from the 
    home, either orally or in writing, on 5 or more occasions. 
(Source: P.A. 99-779, eff. 1-1-17.)
 


    (225 ILCS 10/4)  (from Ch. 23, par. 2214)



    Sec. 4. License requirement; application; notice. 

    (a) Any person, group of persons or corporation who or 
which
receives children or arranges for care or placement of 
one or more
children unrelated to the operator must apply for a 
license to operate
one of the types of facilities defined in 
Sections 2.05 through 2.19 and in
Section 2.22 of
this Act. Any 
relative, as defined in Section 2.17 of this Act, who receives 
a child or children for placement by the
Department on a 
full-time basis may apply for a license to operate a foster

family home as defined in Section 2.17 of this Act.

    (a-5) Any agency, person, group of persons, association, 
organization, corporation, institution, center, or group 
providing adoption services must be licensed by the Department 
as a child welfare agency as defined in Section 2.08 of this 
Act.  "Providing adoption services" as used in this Act, 
includes facilitating or engaging in adoption services.

    (b) Application for a license
to operate a child care 
facility must be made to the Department in the manner
and on 
forms prescribed by it.  An application to operate a foster 
family home
shall include, at a minimum: a completed written 
form; written authorization by
the applicant and all adult 
members of the applicant's household to conduct a
criminal 
background investigation; medical evidence in the form of a 
medical
report, on forms prescribed by the Department, that 
the applicant and all
members of the household are free from 
communicable diseases or physical and
mental conditions that 
affect their ability to provide care for the child or

children; the names and addresses of at least 3 persons not 
related to the
applicant who can attest to the applicant's 
moral character; the name and address of at least one relative 
who can attest to the applicant's capability to care for the 
child or children; and fingerprints
submitted by the applicant 
and all adult members of the applicant's household.

    (b-5) Prior to submitting an application for a foster 
family home license, a quality of care concerns applicant as 
defined in Section 2.22a of this Act must submit a preliminary 
application to the Department in the manner and on forms 
prescribed by it. The Department shall explain to the quality 
of care concerns applicant the grounds for requiring a 
preliminary application. The preliminary application shall 
include a list of (i) all children placed in the home by the 
Department who were removed by the Department for reasons 
other than returning to a parent and the circumstances under 
which they were removed and (ii) all children placed by the 
Department who were subsequently adopted by or placed in the 
private guardianship of the quality of care concerns applicant 
who are currently under 18 and who no longer reside in the home 
and the reasons why they no longer reside in the home. The 
preliminary application shall also include, if the quality of 
care concerns applicant chooses to submit,  (1) a response to 
the quality of care concerns, including any reason the 
concerns are invalid, have been addressed or ameliorated, or 
no longer apply and (2) affirmative documentation 
demonstrating that the quality of care concerns applicant's 
home does not pose a risk to children and that the family will 
be able to meet the physical and emotional needs of children.  
The Department shall verify the information in the preliminary 
application and review (i) information regarding any prior 
licensing complaints, (ii) information regarding any prior 
child abuse or neglect investigations, and (iii) information 
regarding any involuntary foster home holds placed on the home 
by the Department, and (iv) information regarding all child 
exit interviews, as provided in Section 5.26 of the Children 
and Family Services Act, regarding the home. Foster home 
applicants with quality of care concerns are presumed 
unsuitable for future licensure.
    Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection (b-5), 
the Department may make an exception and issue a foster family 
license to a quality of care concerns applicant if the 
Department is satisfied that the foster family home does not 
pose a risk to children and that the foster family will be able 
to meet the physical and emotional needs of children.  In 
making this determination, the Department must obtain and 
carefully review all relevant documents and shall obtain 
consultation from its Clinical Division as appropriate and as 
prescribed by Department rule and procedure. The Department 
has the authority to deny a preliminary application based on 
the record of quality of care concerns of the foster family 
home.  In the alternative, the Department may (i) approve the 
preliminary application, (ii) approve the preliminary 
application subject to obtaining additional information or 
assessments, or (iii) approve the preliminary application for 
purposes of placing a particular child or children only in the 
foster family home. If the Department approves a preliminary 
application, the foster family shall submit an application for 
licensure as described in subsection (b) of this Section. The 
Department shall notify the quality of care concerns applicant 
of its decision and the basis for its decision in writing.
    (c) The Department shall notify the public when a child 
care institution,
maternity center, or group home licensed by 
the Department undergoes a change
in (i) the range of care or 
services offered at the facility, (ii) the age or
type of 
children served, or (iii) the area within the facility used by

children. The Department shall notify the public of the change 
in a newspaper
of general
circulation in the county or 
municipality in which the applicant's facility is
or is 
proposed to be located.

    (d) If, upon examination of the facility and investigation 
of persons
responsible
for care of children and, in the case of 
a foster home, taking into account information obtained for 
purposes of evaluating a preliminary application, if 
applicable, the Department is satisfied that the facility and

responsible persons reasonably meet standards prescribed for 
the type of
facility for which application is made, it shall 
issue a license in proper
form, designating on that license 
the type of child care facility and, except
for a child welfare 
agency, the number of children to be served at any one
time.

    (e) The Department shall not issue or renew the license of 
any child welfare agency providing adoption services, unless 
the agency (i) is officially recognized by the United States 
Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt organization 
described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 
1986 (or any successor provision of federal tax law) and (ii) 
is in compliance with all of the standards necessary to 
maintain its status as an organization described in Section 
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (or any 
successor provision of federal tax law). The Department shall 
grant a grace period of 24 months from the effective date of 
this amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly for existing 
child welfare agencies providing adoption services to obtain 
501(c)(3) status. The Department shall permit an existing 
child welfare agency that converts from its current structure 
in order to be recognized as a 501(c)(3) organization as 
required by this Section to either retain its current license 
or transfer its current license to a newly formed entity, if 
the creation of a new entity is required in order to comply 
with this Section, provided that the child welfare agency 
demonstrates that it continues to meet all other licensing 
requirements and that the principal officers and directors and 
programs of the converted child welfare agency or newly 
organized child welfare agency are substantially the same as 
the original. The Department shall have the sole discretion to 
grant a one year extension to any agency unable to obtain 
501(c)(3) status within the timeframe specified in this 
subsection (e), provided that such agency has filed an 
application for  501(c)(3) status with the Internal Revenue 
Service within the 2-year timeframe specified in this 
subsection (e).

(Source: P.A. 101-63, eff. 7-12-19.)