Public Act 098-0809
 
HB5990 EnrolledLRB098 16906 JLK 51981 b


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


 
 
    Section 5. The Children's Advocacy Center Act is amended  by 
changing Sections 2, 3, and 4 and  by adding Section 2.5 as 
follows:
 



    (55 ILCS 80/2)  (from Ch. 23, par. 1802)



    Sec. 2. Legislative findings. 
    (a) The General Assembly finds that the creation

establishment of accredited Children's Advocacy Centers 
("CACs") accredited throughout the State of
Illinois is 
essential to providing a formal, comprehensive, integrated, 
and multidisciplinary response to the investigation and 
disposition of reports of child maltreatment; by expediting and 
improving the validation or invalidation of such allegations 
for the benefit of children, their families and accused 
perpetrators; by requiring the use of collaborative decision 
making and case management, thereby reducing the number of 
times children are questioned and examined, thus preventing 
further trauma of children; by coordinating therapeutic 
intervention and services thereby providing safety and 
treatment for child victims and their families; by developing 
communication, case coordination, and information sharing 
policies and protocols among allied professionals and agencies 
who play a role in child protection in a given jurisdiction; by 
collecting data to report to partner agencies, the community, 
and the General Assembly, and to use in continually improving 
collaborative multidisciplinary investigations; and, by 
maintaining the confidentiality of client records and records 
from partner agencies, to ensure the protection of the privacy 
of children, their families and accused perpetrators. A CAC 
organized and operating under this Act may accept, receive and 
disburse in furtherance of its duties and functions any funds, 
grants and services made available by the State of Illinois and 
its agencies, the federal government and its agencies, a unit 
of local government, or private or civic sources. To the extent 
permitted by applicable law, participating entities shall 
maintain the confidentiality of case-related information which 
includes, but is not limited to, case review discussions, case 
review notes, written reports and records, and verbal exchanges 
is desirable to coordinate the investigation, prosecution and

treatment referral of child sexual abuse.

    Further, the General Assembly finds that the creation of an 
advisory
board is desirable to develop a coordinated protocol 
for the handling of
child sexual abuse cases among various 
agencies responsible for
investigation, prosecution and 
treatment referral and that such agencies
should be encouraged 
to adopt such a coordinated protocol.

    (b) The General Assembly further finds that the most 
precious resource in the State of Illinois is our children. The 
protection of children from physical abuse, sexual abuse and 
exploitation, and neglect, hereinafter "child maltreatment", 
is at the core of the duties and fundamental responsibilities 
of the General Assembly and provides the highest compelling 
interest to create and maintain a system to effectively respond 
to reports of child maltreatment and protect children from 
harm. 
(Source: P.A. 86-276.)

 
    (55 ILCS 80/2.5 new)
    Sec. 2.5. Definitions. As used in this Section:
    "Accreditation" means the process in which certification 
of competency, authority, or credibility is presented by 
standards set by the National Children's Alliance to ensure 
effective, efficient and consistent delivery of services by a 
CAC.
    "Child maltreatment" includes any act or occurrence, as 
defined in Section 5 of the Criminal Code of 2012, under the 
Children and Family Services Act or the Juvenile Court Act 
involving either a child victim or child witness.
    "Children's Advocacy Center" or "CAC" is a child-focused, 
trauma-informed, facility-based program in which 
representatives from law enforcement, child protection, 
prosecution, mental health, forensic interviewing, medical, 
and victim advocacy disciplines collaborate to interview 
children, meet with a child's parent or parents, caregivers, 
and family members, and make team decisions about the 
investigation, prosecution, safety, treatment, and support 
services for child maltreatment cases.
    "Children's Advocacy Centers of Illinois" or "CACI" is a 
state chapter of the National Children's Alliance ("NCA") and 
organizing entity for Children's Advocacy Centers in the State 
of Illinois. It defines membership and engages member CACs in 
the NCA accreditation process and collecting and sharing of 
data, and provides training, leadership, and technical 
assistance to existing and emerging CACs in the State. 
    "Forensic interview" means an interview between a trained 
forensic interviewer, as defined by NCA standards, and a child 
in which the interviewer obtains information from children in 
an unbiased and fact finding manner that is developmentally 
appropriate and culturally sensitive to support accurate and 
fair decision making by the multidisciplinary team in the 
criminal justice and child protection systems. Whenever 
practical, all parties involved in investigating reports of 
child maltreatment shall observe the interview, which shall be 
digitally recorded.
    "Multidisciplinary team" or "MDT" means a group of 
professionals working collaboratively under a written 
protocol, who represent various disciplines from the point of a 
report of child maltreatment to assure the most effective 
coordinated response possible for every child. Employees from 
each participating entity shall be included on the MDT. A CAC's 
MDT must include professionals involved in the coordination, 
investigation, and prosecution of child abuse cases, including 
the CAC's staff, participating law enforcement agencies, the 
county state's attorney, and the Illinois Department of 
Children and Family Services, and must include professionals 
involved in the delivery of services to victims of child 
maltreatment and non-offending parent or parents, caregiver, 
and their families.
    "National Children's Alliance" or "NCA" means the 
professional membership organization dedicated to helping 
local communities respond to allegations of child abuse in an 
effective and efficient manner. NCA provides training, 
support, technical assistance and leadership on a national 
level to state and local CACs and communities responding to 
reports of child maltreatment. NCA is the national organization 
that provides the standards for CAC accreditation.
    "Protocol" means a written methodology defining the 
responsibilities of each of the MDT members in the 
investigation and prosecution of child maltreatment within a 
defined jurisdiction. Written protocols are signed documents 
and are reviewed and/or updated annually, at a minimum, by a 
CAC's Advisory Board.
 


    (55 ILCS 80/3)  (from Ch. 23, par. 1803)



    Sec. 3. Child Advocacy Advisory Board. 

    (a) Each county or group of counties in the State of 
Illinois shall establish a Child Advocacy
Advisory Board 
("Advisory Board").

    Each of the following county officers or State agencies or 
allied professional entities shall designate a
representative 
to serve on the Advisory Board: law enforcement within the 
appropriate jurisdiction(s), the sheriff,
the Illinois 
Department of Children and Family Services,
the State's 
attorney, and the Children's Advocacy Center the county mental 
health department, and the Department of State Police.

    The Advisory Board chairman may appoint additional members 
of the Advisory Board as is
deemed necessary to accomplish the 
purposes of this Act, the additional
members to include but not 
be limited to representatives of local law
enforcement 
agencies, allied professionals, and the Circuit Courts.

    (b) The Advisory Board shall have the authority to organize 
itself and appoint, assign, or elect leaders.  The Advisory 
Board shall determine the voting rights of multiple members 
from the same agency or entity. from among its
members a 
chairman and such other officers as are deemed necessary. Until 
a
chairman is so elected, the State's attorney shall serve as 
interim
chairman.

    (c) The Advisory Board shall adopt, by a majority of the 
members, a
written operational protocol. The Advisory Board 
shall, prior to finalization, submit a draft to the Children's 
Advocacy Center of Illinois ("CACI") for review and comments to 
ensure compliance with accreditation standards from NCA. After 
considering the comments of the CACI and upon finalization of 
its protocol, the Advisory Board shall file the protocol with 
the Department of Children and Family Services and the CACI. If 
requested, a copy shall be made available to the public by the 
local CAC. Each Advisory Board shall, on an annual basis, 
review and/or update the written protocol. Any changes made to 
the written protocol shall be approved by majority vote and, 
prior to finalization, a draft shall be submitted to the CACI 
for review and comments to ensure compliance with accreditation 
standards from NCA. After considering the comments of the CACI 
and upon finalization of its protocol, the Advisory Board shall 
file the protocol with the Department of Children and Family 
Services and the CACI child sexual abuse protocol within one 
year after the effective
date of this Act.
An Advisory Board 
adopting a protocol after the effective date of this
amendatory 
Act of 1996 shall, prior to finalization, submit its draft to 
the
Illinois Child Advocacy Commission for review and comments.  
After considering
the comments of the Illinois Child Advocacy 
Commission and upon finalization of
its protocol, the Advisory 
Board shall file the protocol with the Department of
Children 
and Family Services.
A copy shall be furnished
to the Illinois 
Child Advocacy Commission and to each agency in the county
or 
counties which has any involvement with the
cases of sexually 
abused children. 

    The Illinois Child Advocacy Commission shall consist of the 
Attorney
General and the Directors of the Illinois State Police 
and the Department of
Children and Family Services or their 
designees.  Additional members may be
appointed to the Illinois 
Child Advocacy Commission as deemed necessary by the
Attorney 
General and the Directors of the Illinois State Police and the

Department of Children and Family Services.  The Illinois Child 
Advocacy
Commission may also provide technical assistance and 
guidance to the Advisory
Boards.

    (d) The purpose of the protocol shall be to ensure 
coordination
and cooperation among all agencies involved in 
child maltreatment sexual abuse cases
so as to increase the 
efficiency and effectiveness of those agencies,
to minimize the 
trauma stress created for the child and his or her 
non-offending parents, caregivers, or family members by the

investigatory and judicial process, and to ensure that more 
effective
treatment is provided for the child and his or her 
non-offending parents, caregivers, or family members. Agencies 
that are members of the Advisory Board are encouraged to amend 
their internal operating protocol in a manner that further 
facilitates coordination and cooperation among all agencies.

    (e) The protocol shall be a written document outlining in 
detail the
procedures to be used in investigating and 
responding to prosecuting cases arising from
alleged child 
maltreatment sexual abuse and in coordinating treatment 
referrals for the
child and his or her non-offending parents, 
caregivers, or family members.  In preparing the written 
protocol, the Advisory
Board shall ensure that the CAC includes 
all of the components listed in Section 4 of this Act. consider 
the following:


        (1) An interdisciplinary, coordinated systems approach 
    to the
investigation of child sexual abuse which shall 
    include, at a minimum;


            (i) an interagency notification procedure;


            (ii) a dispute resolution process between the 
        involved agencies when a
conflict arises on how to 
        proceed with the investigation of a case;


            (iii) a policy on interagency decision-making; and


            (iv) a description of the role each agency has in 
        the investigation of
the case;


        (2) A safe, separate space with assigned personnel 
    designated for the
investigation and coordination of child 
    sexual abuse cases;


        (3) An interdisciplinary case review process for 
    purposes of
decision-making, problem solving, systems 
    coordination, and information
sharing;


        (4) A comprehensive tracking system to receive and 
    coordinate information
concerning child sexual abuse cases 
    from each participating agency;


        (5) Interdisciplinary specialized training for all 
    professionals
involved with the victims and families of 
    child sexual abuse cases;
and


        (6) A process for evaluating the implementation and 
    effectiveness of the
protocol.

    (f) The Advisory Board shall evaluate the implementation 
and
effectiveness of the protocol required under subsection (c) 
of this Section on
an annual basis, and shall propose 
appropriate modifications to the protocol to
maximize its 
effectiveness.  A report of the Advisory Board's review, along

with proposed modifications, shall be submitted to the CACI the 
Illinois Child Advocacy
Commission for its review and comments.  
After considering the comments of the CACI the
Illinois Child 
Advocacy Commission and adopting modifications, the Advisory

Board shall file its amended protocol with the
Department of 
Children and Family Services.  A copy of the Advisory Board's

review and amended protocol shall be furnished to the CACI the 
Illinois Child Advocacy
Commission and to the public each 
agency in the county or counties having any involvement
with 
the cases covered by the protocol.

    (g) (Blank). The Advisory Board shall adopt, by a majority 
of the members, a written
protocol for coordinating cases of

serious or fatal injury to a child, following the
procedures 
and purposes described in subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) of 
this
Section.
The protocol shall be a written document 
outlining in detail the procedures
that will be used by all of 
the agencies involved in investigating and
prosecuting cases 
arising from alleged cases of serious or fatal injury to a 
child and in
coordinating treatment referrals for the child and 
his or her family.


(Source: P.A. 95-527, eff. 6-1-08.)

 


    (55 ILCS 80/4)  (from Ch. 23, par. 1804)



    Sec. 4. Children's Advocacy Center. 

    (a) A CAC Children's Advocacy Center ("Center") may be

established to coordinate the activities of the various 
agencies involved
in the investigation, prosecution and 
treatment referral of child maltreatment
sexual abuse.  The 
individual county or regional Advisory Board shall set the 
written protocol of the CAC within the appropriate jurisdiction 
serve as the governing board for
the Center.
The operation of 
the CAC Center may be funded through public or private grants, 
contracts, donations, fees, and or any
other available sources 
under this Act. Each CAC shall operate to the best of its 
ability in accordance with available funding. In counties in 
which a referendum has been adopted
under Section 5 of this 
Act, the Advisory Board, by the majority vote of its members, 
shall submit a
proposed annual budget for the operation of the 
CAC Center to the county board,
which shall appropriate funds 
and levy a tax sufficient to
operate the CAC Center. The county 
board in each county in which a
referendum has been adopted 
shall establish a Children's Advocacy
Center Fund and shall 
deposit the net proceeds of the tax authorized by
Section 6 of 
this Act in that Fund, which shall be kept separate from all

other county funds and shall only be used for the purposes of 
this Act.

    (b) The Advisory Board shall pay from the Children's 
Advocacy Center
Fund or from other available funds the salaries 
of all employees of the
Center and the expenses of acquiring a 
physical plant for
the Center by construction or lease and 
maintaining the Center, including
the expenses of 
administering the coordination of the investigation,

prosecution and treatment referral of child maltreatment 
sexual
abuse under the provisions of the protocol
adopted 
pursuant to this Act.

    (c) Every CAC Center shall include at least the following 
components:


        (1) A multidisciplinary An interdisciplinary, 
    coordinated systems approach to the
investigation of child 
    maltreatment sexual abuse which shall include, at a 
    minimum;


            (i) an interagency notification procedure;


            (ii) a policy on multidisciplinary team 
        collaboration and communication that requires MDT 
        members share information pertinent to investigations 
        and the safety of children a dispute resolution process 
        between the involved agencies when a
conflict arises on 
        how to proceed with the investigation of a case;


            (iii) (blank); a policy on interagency 
        decision-making; and


            (iv) a description of the role each agency has in 
        responding to a referral for services in an individual 
        the investigation of
the case;

            (v) a dispute resolution process between the 
        involved agencies when a conflict arises on how to 
        proceed on the referral of a particular case;
            (vi) a process for the CAC to assist in the 
        forensic interview of children that witness alleged 
        crimes;
            (vii) a child-friendly, trauma informed space for 
        children and their non-offending family members;
            (viii) an MDT approach including law enforcement, 
        prosecution, medical, mental health, victim advocacy, 
        and other community resources;
            (ix) medical evaluation on-site or off-site 
        through referral;
            (x) mental health services on-site or off-site 
        through referral;
            (xi) on-site forensic interviews;
            (xii) culturally competent services;
            (xiii) case tracking and review;
            (xiv) case staffing on each investigation;
            (xv) effective organizational capacity; and 
            (xvi) a policy or procedure to familiarize a child 
        and his or her non-offending family members or 
        guardians with the court process as well as 
        preparations for testifying in court, if necessary. 

        (2) A safe, separate space with assigned personnel 
    designated for the
investigation and coordination of child 
    maltreatment sexual abuse cases;


        (3) A multidisciplinary An interdisciplinary case 
    review process for purposes of
decision-making, problem 
    solving, systems coordination, and information
sharing;


        (4) A comprehensive client tracking system to receive 
    and coordinate
information concerning child maltreatment 
    sexual abuse cases from each participating agency;


        (5) Multidisciplinary Interdisciplinary specialized 
    training for all professionals involved
with the victims 
    and non-offending family members in families of child 
    maltreatment sexual abuse cases; and


        (6) A process for evaluating the effectiveness of the 
    CAC Center and its
operations.

    (d) In the event that a CAC Center has been established as 
provided in this
Section, the Advisory Board of that CAC Center 
may, by a majority vote of the members,
authorize the CAC 
Center to coordinate the activities of the various agencies

involved in the investigation, prosecution, and treatment 
referral in cases of serious or fatal injury to a
child. For 
CACs receiving funds under Section 5 or 6 of this Act, the The 
Advisory Board shall provide for the financial
support of these 
activities in a manner similar to that set out in subsections

(a) and (b) of this Section and shall be allowed to submit a 
budget that
includes support for physical abuse and neglect 
activities to the County Board,
which shall appropriate funds 
that may be available under Section 5 of this
Act. In 
cooperation with the Department of Children and Family Services 
Child Death Review Teams, the Department of Children and Family 
Services Office of the Inspector General, the Department of 
State Police, and other stakeholders, this protocol must be 
initially implemented in selected counties to the extent that 
State appropriations or funds from other sources for this 
purpose allow.


    (e) CACI The Illinois Child Advocacy Commission may also 
provide technical
assistance and guidance to the Advisory 
Boards and shall make a single annual
grant for the purpose of 
providing technical support and assistance for
advocacy center 
development in Illinois whenever an appropriation is made by

the General Assembly specifically for that purpose.  The grant 
may be made only
to an Illinois not-for-profit corporation that 
qualifies for tax treatment
under Section 501(c)(3) of the 
Internal Revenue Code and that has a voting
membership 
consisting of children's advocacy centers.  The grant may be 
spent
on staff, office space, equipment, and other expenses 
necessary for the
development of resource materials
and other 
forms of technical support and assistance.  The grantee shall 
report
to the Commission on the specific uses of grant funds by 
no later than October
1 of each year and shall retain 
supporting documentation for a period of at
least
5 years after 
the corresponding report is filed.

(Source: P.A. 95-527, eff. 6-1-08.)