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90_SB0780eng
20 ILCS 505/7 from Ch. 23, par. 5007
20 ILCS 505/7.7
750 ILCS 50/15.1 from Ch. 40, par. 1519.1
Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Provides
that in placing a child under the Act, DCFS shall consider
the desirability of permanent placement for the child, and
there is a presumption that the child's best interests are
for permanent placement rather than temporary placements. In
the Section on limiting multiple placements, provides that in
determining a child's best interests, DCFS shall give due,
not sole, consideration to the child's race or ethnic
heritage in making a family foster care placement. Amends the
Adoption Act; provides that in determining a child's best
interest, the court and the child's guardian with the power
to consent to adoption shall not give the child's race or
ethnic heritage priority over other relevant factors.
Effective immediately.
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1 AN ACT concerning the placement of children, amending
2 named Acts.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is
6 amended by changing Sections 7 and 7.7 as follows:
7 (20 ILCS 505/7) (from Ch. 23, par. 5007)
8 Sec. 7. Placement of children; considerations.
9 (a) In placing any child under this Act, the Department
10 shall place such child, as far as possible, in the care and
11 custody of some individual holding the same religious belief
12 as the parents of the child, or with some child care facility
13 which is operated by persons of like religious faith as the
14 parents of such child.
15 (b) In placing a child under this Act, the Department
16 may place a child with a relative if the Department has
17 reason to believe that the relative will be able to
18 adequately provide for the child's safety and welfare. The
19 Department may not place a child with a relative, with the
20 exception of certain circumstances which may be waived as
21 defined by the Department in rules, if the results of a check
22 of the Law Enforcement Agency Data System (LEADS) identifies
23 a prior criminal conviction of the relative or any adult
24 member of the relative's household for any of the following
25 offenses under the Criminal Code of 1961:
26 (1) murder;
27 (1.1) solicitation of murder;
28 (1.2) solicitation of murder for hire;
29 (1.3) intentional homicide of an unborn child;
30 (1.4) voluntary manslaughter of an unborn child;
31 (1.5) involuntary manslaughter;
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1 (1.6) reckless homicide;
2 (1.7) concealment of a homicidal death;
3 (1.8) involuntary manslaughter of an unborn child;
4 (1.9) reckless homicide of an unborn child;
5 (1.10) drug-induced homicide;
6 (2) a sex offense under Article 11, except offenses
7 described in Sections 11-7, 11-8, 11-12, and 11-13;
8 (3) kidnapping;
9 (3.1) aggravated unlawful restraint;
10 (3.2) forcible detention;
11 (3.3) aiding and abetting child abduction;
12 (4) aggravated kidnapping;
13 (5) child abduction;
14 (6) aggravated battery of a child;
15 (7) criminal sexual assault;
16 (8) aggravated criminal sexual assault;
17 (8.1) predatory criminal sexual assault of a child;
18 (9) criminal sexual abuse;
19 (10) aggravated sexual abuse;
20 (11) heinous battery;
21 (12) aggravated battery with a firearm;
22 (13) tampering with food, drugs, or cosmetics;
23 (14) drug-induced infliction of great bodily harm;
24 (15) aggravated stalking;
25 (16) home invasion;
26 (17) vehicular invasion;
27 (18) criminal transmission of HIV;
28 (19) criminal neglect of an elderly or disabled
29 person;
30 (20) child abandonment;
31 (21) endangering the life or health of a child;
32 (22) ritual mutilation;
33 (23) ritualized abuse of a child;
34 (24) an offense in any other state the elements of
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1 which are similar and bear a substantial relationship to
2 any of the foregoing offenses.
3 For the purpose of this subsection, "relative" shall include
4 any person, 21 years of age or over, other than the parent,
5 who (i) is currently related to the child in any of the
6 following ways by blood or adoption: grandparent, sibling,
7 great-grandparent, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, first cousin,
8 great-uncle, or great-aunt; or (ii) is the spouse of such a
9 relative; or (iii) is the child's step-father, step-mother,
10 or adult step-brother or step-sister; "relative" also
11 includes a person related in any of the foregoing ways to a
12 sibling of a child, even though the person is not related to
13 the child, when the child and its sibling are placed together
14 with that person. A relative with whom a child is placed
15 pursuant to this subsection may, but is not required to,
16 apply for licensure as a foster family home pursuant to the
17 Child Care Act of 1969; provided, however, that as of July 1,
18 1995, foster care payments shall be made only to licensed
19 foster family homes pursuant to the terms of Section 5 of
20 this Act.
21 (c) In placing a child under this Act, the Department
22 shall ensure that the child's best interests are met by
23 giving due, not sole, consideration to the child's race or
24 ethnic heritage in making a family foster care placement. The
25 Department shall consider the cultural, ethnic, or racial
26 background of the child and the capacity of the prospective
27 foster or adoptive parents to meet the needs of a child of
28 this background as one of a number of factors used to
29 determine the best interests of the child. The Department
30 also shall consider the desirability of permanent placement
31 for the child, and there is a presumption that the child's
32 best interests are for permanent placement rather than for
33 temporary placements.
34 The Department shall make special efforts for the
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1 diligent recruitment of potential foster and adoptive
2 families that reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of the
3 children for whom foster and adoptive homes are needed.
4 "Special efforts" shall include contacting and working with
5 community organizations and religious organizations and may
6 include contracting with those organizations, utilizing local
7 media and other local resources, and conducting outreach
8 activities.
9 (d) The Department may accept gifts, grants, offers of
10 services, and other contributions to use in making special
11 recruitment efforts.
12 (e) The Department in placing children in adoptive or
13 foster care homes may not, in any policy or practice relating
14 to the placement of children for adoption or foster care,
15 discriminate against any child or prospective adoptive parent
16 on the basis of race.
17 (Source: P.A. 89-21, eff. 7-1-95; 89-422; 89-428, eff.
18 12-13-95; 89-462, eff. 5-29-96; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96.)
19 (20 ILCS 505/7.7)
20 Sec. 7.7. Limit on multiple placements. If the
21 Department has placed a child in substitute care pursuant to
22 a court order, the Department may not change the child's
23 placement unless the Department specifically documents that
24 the current placement is unsuitable or that another placement
25 is in the child's best interests or unless the new placement
26 is in an adoptive home or other permanent placement. In
27 determining the child's best interests, the Department shall
28 give due, not sole, consideration to the child's race or
29 ethnic heritage in making a family foster care placement.
30 The Department shall not deny or delay placement of the child
31 on the basis of the race or ethnic heritage of the child or
32 the prospective foster parent or parents.
33 (Source: P.A. 89-422.)
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1 Section 10. The Adoption Act is amended by changing
2 Section 15.1 as follows:
3 (750 ILCS 50/15.1) (from Ch. 40, par. 1519.1)
4 Sec. 15.1. (a) Any person over the age of 18, who has
5 cared for a child for a continuous period of one year or more
6 as a foster parent licensed under the Child Care Act of 1969
7 to operate a foster family home, may apply to the child's
8 guardian with the power to consent to adoption, for such
9 guardian's consent.
10 (b) Such guardian shall give preference and first
11 consideration to that application over all other applications
12 for adoption of the child but the guardian's final decision
13 shall be based on the welfare and best interest of the child.
14 In arriving at this decision, the guardian shall consider all
15 relevant factors including but not limited to:
16 (1) the wishes of the child;
17 (2) the interaction and interrelationship of the
18 child with the applicant to adopt the child;
19 (3) the child's need for stability and continuity
20 of relationship with parent figures;
21 (4) the wishes of the child's parent as expressed
22 in writing prior to that parent's execution of a consent
23 or surrender for adoption;
24 (5) the child's adjustment to his present home,
25 school and community;
26 (6) the mental and physical health of all
27 individuals involved;
28 (7) the family ties between the child and the
29 applicant to adopt the child and the value of preserving
30 family ties between the child and the child's relatives,
31 including siblings;
32 (8) the background, race, ethnic heritage,
33 behavior, age and living arrangements of the applicant to
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1 adopt the child;
2 (9) the criminal background check report presented
3 to the court as part of the investigation required under
4 Section 6 of this Act.
5 In considering these factors, the guardian shall not give
6 the child's race or ethnic heritage priority over other
7 relevant factors.
8 (c) The final determination of the propriety of the
9 adoption shall be within the sole discretion of the court,
10 which shall base its decision on the welfare and best
11 interest of the child. In arriving at this decision, the
12 court shall consider all relevant factors including but not
13 limited to the factors in subsection (b). In considering
14 these factors, the court shall not give the child's race or
15 ethnic heritage priority over other relevant factors.
16 (d) If the court specifically finds that the guardian
17 has abused his discretion by withholding consent to an
18 adoption in violation of the child's welfare and best
19 interests, then the court may grant an adoption, after all of
20 the other provisions of this Act have been complied with,
21 with or without the consent of the guardian with power to
22 consent to adoption. If the court specifically finds that
23 the guardian has abused his discretion by granting consent to
24 an adoption in violation of the child's welfare and best
25 interests, then the court may deny an adoption even though
26 the guardian with power to consent to adoption has consented
27 to it.
28 (Source: P.A. 87-1129.)
29 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
30 becoming law.