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91_SB1388eng SB1388 Engrossed LRB9109824RCks 1 AN ACT to amend the Adoption Act by changing Section 6. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Adoption Act is amended by changing 5 Section 6 as follows: 6 (750 ILCS 50/6) (from Ch. 40, par. 1508) 7 Sec. 6. A. Investigation; all cases. Within 10 days 8 after the filing of a petition for the adoption or standby 9 adoption of a child other than a related child, the court 10 shall appoint a child welfare agency approved by the 11 Department of Children and Family Services, or a person 12 deemed competent by the court, or in Cook County the Court 13 Services Division of the Cook County Department of Public 14 Aid, or the Department of Children and Family Services if the 15 court determines that no child welfare agency is available or 16 that the petitioner is financially unable to pay for the 17 investigation, to investigate accurately, fully and promptly, 18 the allegations contained in the petition; the character, 19 reputation, health and general standing in the community of 20 the petitioners; the religious faith of the petitioners and, 21 if ascertainable, of the child sought to be adopted; and 22 whether the petitioners are proper persons to adopt the child 23 and whether the child is a proper subject of adoption. The 24 investigation required under this Section shall include a 25 criminal background check with a review of fingerprints by 26 State and federal authorities. The criminal background check 27 required by this Section shall include a listing of when, 28 where and by whom the criminal background check was prepared. 29 The criminal background check required by this Section shall 30 not be more than two years old. 31 Neither a clerk of the circuit court nor a judge may SB1388 Engrossed -2- LRB9109824RCks 1 require that a criminal background check or fingerprint 2 review be filed with, or at the same time as, an initial 3 petition for adoption. 4 B. Investigation; foreign-born child. In the case of a 5 child born outside the United States or a territory thereof, 6 in addition to the investigation required under subsection 7 (A) of this Section, a post-placement investigation shall be 8 conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Child 9 Care Act of 1969, the Interstate Compact on the Placement of 10 Children, and regulations of the foreign placing agency and 11 the supervising agency. 12 The requirements of a post-placement investigation shall 13 be deemed to have been satisfied if a valid final order or 14 judgment of adoption has been entered by a court of competent 15 jurisdiction in a country other than the United States or a 16 territory thereof with respect to such child and the 17 petitioners. 18 C. Report of investigation. The court shall determine 19 whether the costs of the investigation shall be charged to 20 the petitioners. The information obtained as a result of such 21 investigation shall be presented to the court in a written 22 report. The results of the criminal background check required 23 under subsection (A) shall be provided to the court for its 24 review. The court may, in its discretion, weigh the 25 significance of the results of the criminal background check 26 against the entirety of the background of the petitioners. 27 The Court, in its discretion, may accept the report of the 28 investigation previously made by a licensed child welfare 29 agency, if made within one year prior to the entry of the 30 judgment. Such report shall be treated as confidential and 31 withheld from inspection unless findings adverse to the 32 petitioners or to the child sought to be adopted are 33 contained therein, and in that event the court shall inform 34 the petitioners of the relevant portions pertaining to the SB1388 Engrossed -3- LRB9109824RCks 1 adverse findings. In no event shall any facts set forth in 2 the report be considered at the hearing of the proceeding, 3 unless established by competent evidence. The report shall be 4 filed with the record of the proceeding. If the file 5 relating to the proceeding is not impounded, the report shall 6 be impounded by the clerk of the court and shall be made 7 available for inspection only upon order of the court. 8 D. Related adoption. Such investigation shall not be 9 made when the petition seeks to adopt a related child or an 10 adult unless the court, in its discretion, shall so order. In 11 such an event the court may appoint a person deemed competent 12 by the court. 13 (Source: P.A. 91-429, eff. 1-1-00; 91-572, eff. 1-1-00; 14 revised 10-19-99.) 15 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 16 becoming law.