Public Act 098-0453
 
HB2787 EnrolledLRB098 06185 DRJ 36226 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 Sections 7.7, 7.14, 7.16, and 7.21 and  by 
adding Section 7.22 as follows:
 



    (325 ILCS 5/7.7)  (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.7)



    Sec. 7.7. 
There shall be a central register of all cases of 
suspected
child abuse or neglect reported and maintained by the 
Department under this
Act.  Through the recording of initial, 
preliminary, and final
reports, the central register shall be 
operated in such a manner as to enable
the Department to:  (1) 
immediately identify and  locate prior reports of
child abuse or 
neglect; (2) continuously monitor the current status
of all 
reports of child abuse or neglect being provided services under 
this
Act; and (3) regularly evaluate the effectiveness of 
existing laws and programs
through the development and analysis 
of statistical and other information.

    The Department shall maintain in the central register a 
listing of unfounded
reports where the subject of the unfounded 
report requests that the record
not be expunged because the 
subject alleges an intentional false report
was made.  Such a 
request must be made by the subject in writing to the

Department, within 10 days of the investigation. By January 1, 
2014, the Department shall promulgate rules establishing 
criteria and standards for labeling an unfounded report as an 
intentional false report in the central register. The rules 
shall permit the reporter to submit a statement regarding the 
report unless the reporter has been convicted of knowingly 
transmitting a false report to the Department under paragraph 
(7) of subsection (a) of Section 26-1 of the Criminal Code of 
2012. 

    The Department shall also maintain in the central register 
a listing of
unfounded reports where the report was classified 
as a priority one or priority
two report in accordance with the 
Department's rules or the report was made by
a person mandated 
to report suspected abuse or neglect under this Act.

    The Department shall maintain in the central register for 3 
years a listing
of unfounded reports involving the death of a 
child, the sexual abuse of a
child, or serious physical injury 
to a child as defined by the Department in
rules.

    If an individual is the subject of a subsequent 
investigation that is pending, the Department shall maintain 
all prior unfounded reports pertaining to that individual until 
the pending investigation has been completed or for 12 months, 
whichever time period ends later.
    The Department shall maintain all other unfounded reports 
for 12 months following the date of the final finding. 
    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. 96-1164, eff. 7-21-10; 96-1446, eff. 8-20-10; 
97-333, eff. 8-12-11; 97-1089, eff. 8-24-12.)

 


    (325 ILCS 5/7.14)  (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.14)



    Sec. 7.14. All reports in the central register shall be 
classified in one
of three categories: "indicated", 
"unfounded" or "undetermined", as the
case may be.  After the 
report is classified, the person making the
classification 
shall determine whether the child named in the
report is the 
subject of an action under Article II of the Juvenile Court
Act 
of 1987.  If the child is the subject of an action under Article 
II of the
Juvenile Court Act, the Department shall, within 45 
days of classification of the report, transmit a copy of the 
report to
the guardian ad litem appointed for the child under 
Section 2-17 of the
Juvenile Court Act.  All information 
identifying the subjects of an unfounded
report shall be 
expunged from the register
forthwith, except as provided in 
Section 7.7.
Unfounded reports may only be made available to 
the Child
Protective Service Unit when investigating a 
subsequent report of suspected
abuse or maltreatment involving 
a child named in the unfounded report; and to
the subject of 
the report, provided the Department has not expunged the file 
in accordance with Section 7.7.  The Child Protective
Service 
Unit shall not indicate the subsequent report solely based upon 
the
existence of the prior unfounded report or reports.  
Notwithstanding any other
provision of law to the contrary, an 
unfounded report shall not be admissible
in any judicial or 
administrative proceeding or action.
Identifying information 
on all other records shall be
removed from the register no 
later than 5 years after the report is indicated.
However, if 
another report is received involving the same child, his 
sibling
or offspring, or a child in the care of the persons 
responsible for the
child's welfare, or involving the same 
alleged offender, the
identifying
information may be 
maintained in the register
until 5 years after the subsequent 
case or report is closed.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, 
identifying
information in indicated reports involving serious 
physical injury to a child as defined by the
Department in 
rules, may be retained longer than 5 years after the report
is 
indicated or after the subsequent case or report is closed, and 
may not
be removed from the register except as provided by the 
Department in rules. Identifying information in indicated 
reports involving sexual penetration of a child, sexual 
molestation of a child, sexual exploitation of a child, torture 
of a child, or the death of a child, as defined by the 
Department in rules, shall be retained for a period of not less 
than 50 years after the report is indicated or after the 
subsequent case or report is closed.


    For purposes of this Section "child" includes an adult 
resident as defined in this Act.
(Source: P.A. 96-1164, eff. 7-21-10; 96-1446, eff. 8-20-10; 
97-333, eff. 8-12-11.)

 



    (325 ILCS 5/7.16)  (from Ch. 23, par. 2057.16)



    Sec. 7.16. 
For any investigation or appeal initiated on or 
after, or
pending on July 1, 1998, the following time frames 
shall apply.
Within 60 days after the notification of the 
completion
of the Child Protective Service Unit investigation, 
determined by the date
of the notification sent by the 
Department, a subject of a report may
request the Department to 
amend the record or
remove the record of the report from the 
register.  Such request shall be
in writing and directed to such 
person as the Department designates in the
notification. If the 
Department disregards any
request to do so or does
not act 
within 10 days, the subject shall have the right to a
hearing 
within
the Department to determine whether the record of the 
report should be
amended or removed on the grounds that it is 
inaccurate or it is
being
maintained in a manner  inconsistent 
with this Act, except that there
shall be no such right to a 
hearing on the ground of the report's
inaccuracy if there has 
been a court finding of child abuse or neglect, the
report's 
accuracy being conclusively presumed on such finding.  Such

hearing shall be held within a reasonable time after the 
subject's request
and at a reasonable place and hour.  The 
appropriate Child Protective
Service Unit shall be given notice 
of the hearing.  If the minor, who is the victim named in the 
report sought to be amended or removed from the State Central 
Register, is the subject of a pending action under Article II 
of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, and the report was made 
while a guardian ad litem was appointed for the minor under 
Section 2-17 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, then the minor 
shall, through the minor's attorney or guardian ad litem 
appointed under Section 2-17 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, 
have the right to participate and be heard in such hearing as 
defined under the Department's rules. In such hearings, the

burden of proving the accuracy and consistency of the record 
shall be on
the Department and the appropriate Child Protective 
Service Unit. The
hearing shall be conducted by the Director or 
his  designee,  who is hereby
authorized and empowered to order 
the amendment or removal of
the record to make it accurate and 
consistent with this Act. The decision
shall be made, in 
writing, at the close of the hearing, or within 45
days

thereof, and shall state the reasons upon which it is based.  
Decisions of
the Department under this Section are 
administrative decisions subject to
judicial review under the 
Administrative Review Law.

    Should the Department grant the request of the subject of 
the report
pursuant to this Section either on administrative 
review or after
administrative hearing to amend an indicated 
report to an unfounded report, the
report shall be released and 
expunged in accordance
with the standards set forth in Section 
7.14 of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 90-15, eff. 6-13-97; 90-608, eff. 6-30-98.)

 



    (325 ILCS 5/7.21)



    Sec. 7.21. Multidisciplinary Review Committee. 

    (a) The Department may establish multidisciplinary review 
committees in each
region of the State to assure that mandated 
reporters have the ability to have
a review conducted on any 
situation where a child abuse or neglect report made
by them 
was "unfounded", and they have concerns about the adequacy of 
the
investigation.
These committees shall draw upon the 
expertise of the Child Death Review
Teams as necessary and 
practicable.  Each committee will be composed of the
following:  
a
health care professional, a Department employee, a law 
enforcement official, a
licensed social
worker, and a 
representative of the State's attorney's office.  In appointing

members of a committee, primary consideration shall be given to 
a prospective
member's prior experience in dealing with cases 
of suspected child abuse or
neglect.

    (b) Whenever the Department determines that a reported 
incident of child
abuse or neglect from a mandated reporter is 
"unfounded", the mandated reporter
may request a review of the 
investigation within 10 days of the notification of
the final 
finding.  Whenever the Department determines that a reported

incident of child abuse or neglect from a mandated reporter or 
any other
reporter is "unfounded", the minor's guardian ad 
litem appointed under the
Juvenile Court Act of 1987 may 
request a review of the investigation within 10
days of the 
notification of the final finding if the subject of the report 
is
also the minor for whom the guardian ad litem has been 
appointed.  The review
of the investigation requested by the 
guardian ad litem may be conducted by
the Regional Child 
Protection Manager.

    A review under this subsection will be conducted by the

committee, except those requests for review that are made by 
the guardian
 ad litem, which shall be conducted by the Regional 
Child Protection Manager.
The
Department shall make available 
to the committee all information in the
Department's possession 
concerning the case.  The committee shall make
recommendations 
to the Department as to the adequacy of the investigation and

of the accuracy of the final finding determination.  These 
findings shall be
forwarded to the Regional Child Protection 
Manager.

    (c) The Department shall provide complete records of these 
investigations to
the committee.  Records provided to the 
committee and recommendation reports
generated by the 
committee shall not be public record.

    (c-5) On or before October 1 of each year, the Department 
shall prepare a
report setting forth (i) the number of 
investigations
reviewed by each committee during the previous 
fiscal year and (ii) the number
of those investigations that 
the committee found to be
inadequate.  The report shall also 
include a summary of the committee's
comments and a summary of 
the corrective action, if any, that
was taken in response to 
the committee's recommendations.  The report shall be
a public 
record.  The Department shall submit the
report to the General 
Assembly and shall make the report available to the
public upon 
request.

    (d) The Department shall adopt rules to implement this 
Section.

(Source: P.A. 90-239, eff. 7-28-97; 91-812, eff. 6-13-00.)

 
    (325 ILCS 5/7.22 new)
    Sec. 7.22. Reviews of unfounded reports.
    (a) Whenever the Department determines that a reported 
incident of child abuse or neglect is "unfounded", the minor's 
attorney or guardian ad litem appointed under the Juvenile 
Court Act of 1987 may request a review of the investigation 
within 10 days of the notification of the final finding and 
receipt of the report, as provided in Section 7.14 of this Act, 
if the subject of the report is also the minor for whom the 
attorney or guardian ad litem has been appointed. 
    (b) Reviews requested under subsection (a) may be requested 
by sending a request via U.S. Mail, postmarked within 10 days 
after notice of the final finding, or by faxing a request 
within 10 days after notice of the final finding. The date of 
notification of the final finding is the date the attorney or 
guardian ad litem received a copy of the report from the 
Department. 
    (c) By January 1, 2014, the Department shall promulgate 
rules addressing reviews requested under subsection (a).  The 
rules shall provide that a review requested under subsection 
(a) must occur before the report is classified and a final 
finding is entered in the central register and that the review 
must be conducted by a Department employee outside the 
supervisory chain of the assigned investigator. 
 

    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.