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Rep. Litesa E. Wallace
Filed: 4/7/2015
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1 | | AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3684
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2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3684 by replacing |
3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
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4 | | "Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the |
5 | | Foster Children's Bill of Rights Act. |
6 | | Section 5. Foster Children's Bill or Rights. It is the |
7 | | policy of this State that every child and
adult in the care of |
8 | | the Department of Children and Family Services who is placed in |
9 | | foster care shall have the following rights: |
10 | | (1) To live in a safe, healthy, and comfortable home |
11 | | where he or
she is treated with respect. |
12 | | (2) To be free from physical, sexual, emotional, or |
13 | | other abuse,
or corporal punishment. |
14 | | (3) To receive adequate and healthy food, adequate |
15 | | clothing, and,
for youth in group homes, an allowance. |
16 | | (4) To receive medical, dental, vision, and mental |
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1 | | health
services. |
2 | | (5) To be free of the administration of medication or |
3 | | chemical
substances, unless authorized by a physician. |
4 | | (6) To contact family members, unless prohibited by |
5 | | court order,
and social workers, attorneys, foster youth |
6 | | advocates and supporters,
Court Appointed Special |
7 | | Advocates (CASAs), and probation officers. |
8 | | (7) To visit and contact brothers and sisters, unless |
9 | | prohibited
by court order. |
10 | | (8) To contact the Advocacy Office for Children and |
11 | | Families established under the Children and Family |
12 | | Services Act or the Department of Children and Family |
13 | | Services' Office of the Inspector General regarding |
14 | | violations of rights, to speak to representatives of these
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15 | | offices confidentially, and to be free from threats or |
16 | | punishment for
making complaints. |
17 | | (9) To make and receive confidential telephone calls |
18 | | and send and
receive unopened mail, unless prohibited by |
19 | | court order.
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20 | | (10) To attend religious services and activities of his |
21 | | or her
choice.
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22 | | (11) To maintain an emancipation bank account and |
23 | | manage personal
income, consistent with the child's age and |
24 | | developmental level,
unless prohibited by the case plan. |
25 | | (12) To not be locked in a room, building, or facility |
26 | | premises,
unless placed in a secure child care facility |
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1 | | licensed by the Department of Children and Family Services |
2 | | under the Child Care Act of 1969. |
3 | | (13) To attend school and participate in |
4 | | extracurricular,
cultural, and personal enrichment |
5 | | activities, consistent with the
child's age and |
6 | | developmental level, with minimal disruptions to
school |
7 | | attendance and educational stability. |
8 | | (14) To work and develop job skills at an |
9 | | age-appropriate level,
consistent with State law. |
10 | | (15) To have social contacts with people outside of the |
11 | | foster
care system, including teachers, church members, |
12 | | mentors, and
friends. |
13 | | (16) If he or she meets age requirements, to attend |
14 | | services and programs operated by the Department of |
15 | | Children and Family Services or any other appropriate State |
16 | | agency that aim to help current and former foster youth |
17 | | achieve self-sufficiency prior to and after leaving foster |
18 | | care. |
19 | | (17) To attend court hearings and speak to the judge. |
20 | | (18) To have storage space for private use. |
21 | | (19) To be involved in the development of his or her |
22 | | own case plan
and plan for permanent placement. |
23 | | (20) To review his or her own case plan and plan for |
24 | | permanent
placement, if he or she is 12 years of age or |
25 | | older and in a
permanent placement, and to receive |
26 | | information about his or her
out-of-home placement and case |
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1 | | plan, including being told of changes
to the case plan. |
2 | | (21) To be free from unreasonable searches of personal |
3 | | belongings. |
4 | | (22) To the confidentiality of all juvenile court |
5 | | records
consistent with existing law. |
6 | | (23) To have fair and equal access to all available |
7 | | services,
placement, care, treatment, and benefits, and to |
8 | | not be subjected to
discrimination or harassment on the |
9 | | basis of actual or perceived
race, ethnic group |
10 | | identification, ancestry, national origin, color,
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11 | | religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental |
12 | | or
physical disability, or HIV status. |
13 | | (24) To have caregivers and child welfare personnel who |
14 | | have received sensitivity training and instruction on |
15 | | matters concerning race and ethnicity. |
16 | | (25) To have caregivers and child welfare personnel who |
17 | | have
received instruction on cultural competency and |
18 | | sensitivity relating
to, and best practices for, providing |
19 | | adequate care to lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender |
20 | | youth in out-of-home care. |
21 | | (26) At 16 years of age or older, to have access to |
22 | | existing
information regarding the educational options |
23 | | available, including,
but not limited to, the coursework |
24 | | necessary for vocational and
postsecondary educational |
25 | | programs, and information regarding
financial aid for |
26 | | postsecondary education. |
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1 | | (27) To have access to age-appropriate, medically |
2 | | accurate
information about reproductive health care, the |
3 | | prevention of
unplanned pregnancy, and the prevention and |
4 | | treatment of sexually
transmitted infections at 12 years of |
5 | | age or older.
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6 | | (28) To receive a copy of this Act from and have it |
7 | | fully explained by the Department of Children and Family |
8 | | Services when the child or adult is placed in the care of |
9 | | the Department of Children and Family Services. |
10 | | Section 10. Foster care provider. Nothing in this Act shall |
11 | | be interpreted to require a
foster care provider to take any |
12 | | action that would impair the health
and safety of children in |
13 | | out-of-home placement.".
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