Rep. Monique D. Davis
Filed: 4/1/2014
 
 


 




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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 4736 




2 AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 4736 by replacing 
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:


4 "Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended 
5by changing Section 7 as follows:




6 (20 ILCS 505/7) (from Ch. 23, par. 5007)



7 Sec. 7. Placement of children; considerations. 

8 (a) In placing any child under this Act, the Department 
9shall place the
child, as far as possible, in the care and 
10custody of some individual
holding the same religious belief as 
11the parents of the child, or with some
child care facility 
12which is operated by persons of like religious faith as
the 
13parents of such child.

14 (a-5) In placing a child under this Act, the Department 
15shall place the child with the child's
sibling or siblings 
16under Section 7.4 of this Act unless the placement is not in 
 
 
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1each child's best
interest, or is otherwise not possible under 
2the Department's rules. If the child is not
placed with a 
3sibling under the Department's rules, the Department shall 
4consider
placements that are likely to develop, preserve, 
5nurture, and support sibling relationships, where
doing so is 
6in each child's best interest. 
7 (b) In placing a child under this Act, the Department may 
8place a child
with a relative if the Department determines that 
9the relative
will be able to adequately provide for the child's 
10safety and welfare based on the factors set forth in the 
11Department's rules governing relative placements, and that the 
12placement is consistent with the child's best interests, taking 
13into consideration the factors set out in subsection (4.05) of 
14Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. 
15 When the Department first assumes custody of a child, in 
16placing that child under this Act, the Department shall make 
17reasonable efforts to identify, locate, and provide notice to 
18all adult grandparents and other adult relatives of the child 
19who are and locate a relative who is ready, willing, and able 
20to care for the child. At a minimum, these efforts shall be 
21renewed each time the child requires a placement change and it 
22is appropriate for the child to be cared for in a home 
23environment. The Department must document its efforts to 
24identify and locate such a relative placement and maintain the 
25documentation in the child's case file.
26 If the Department determines that a placement with any 
 
 
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1identified relative is not in the child's best interests or 
2that the relative does not meet the requirements to be a 
3relative caregiver, as set forth in Department rules or by 
4statute, the Department must document the basis for that 
5decision and maintain the documentation in the child's case 
6file.

7 If, pursuant to the Department's rules, any person files an 
8administrative appeal of the Department's decision not to place 
9a child with a relative, it is the Department's burden to prove 
10that the decision is consistent with the child's best 
11interests.
12 When the Department determines that the child requires 
13placement in an environment, other than a home environment, the 
14Department shall continue to make reasonable efforts to 
15identify and locate relatives to serve as visitation resources 
16for the child and potential future placement resources, except 
17when the Department determines that those efforts would be 
18futile or inconsistent with the child's best interests.
19 If the Department determines that efforts to identify and 
20locate relatives would be futile or inconsistent with the 
21child's best interests, the Department shall document the basis 
22of its determination and maintain the documentation in the 
23child's case file.
24 If the Department determines that an individual or a group 
25of relatives are inappropriate to serve as visitation resources 
26or possible placement resources, the Department shall document 
 
 
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1the basis of its determination and maintain the documentation 
2in the child's case file.
3 When the Department determines that an individual or a 
4group of relatives are appropriate to serve as visitation 
5resources or possible future placement resources, the 
6Department shall document the basis of its determination, 
7maintain the documentation in the child's case file, create a 
8visitation or transition plan, or both, and incorporate the 
9visitation or transition plan, or both, into the child's case 
10plan. For the purpose of this subsection, any determination as 
11to the child's best interests shall include consideration of 
12the factors set out in subsection (4.05) of Section 1-3 of the 
13Juvenile Court Act of 1987.

14 The Department may not place a child with a relative, with 
15the exception of
certain circumstances which may be waived as 
16defined by the Department in
rules, if the results of a check 
17of the Law Enforcement Agencies
Data System (LEADS) identifies 
18a prior criminal conviction of the relative or
any adult member 
19of the relative's household for any of the following offenses

20under the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012:


21  (1) murder;


22  (1.1) solicitation of murder;


23  (1.2) solicitation of murder for hire;


24  (1.3) intentional homicide of an unborn child;


25  (1.4) voluntary manslaughter of an unborn child;


26  (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, 11-13, 11-35, 
8 11-40, and 11-45;


9  (3) kidnapping;


10  (3.1) aggravated unlawful restraint;


11  (3.2) forcible detention;


12  (3.3) aiding and abetting child abduction;


13  (4) aggravated kidnapping;


14  (5) child abduction;


15  (6) aggravated battery of a child as described in 
16 Section 12-4.3 or subdivision (b)(1) of Section 12-3.05;


17  (7) criminal sexual assault;


18  (8) aggravated criminal sexual assault;


19  (8.1) predatory criminal sexual assault of a child;


20  (9) criminal sexual abuse;


21  (10) aggravated sexual abuse;


22  (11) heinous battery as described in Section 12-4.1 or 
23 subdivision (a)(2) of Section 12-3.05;


24  (12) aggravated battery with a firearm as described in 
25 Section 12-4.2 or subdivision (e)(1), (e)(2), (e)(3), or 
26 (e)(4) of Section 12-3.05;


 
 
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1  (13) tampering with food, drugs, or cosmetics;


2  (14) drug-induced infliction of great bodily harm as 
3 described in Section 12-4.7 or subdivision (g)(1) of 
4 Section 12-3.05;


5  (15) aggravated stalking;


6  (16) home invasion;


7  (17) vehicular invasion;


8  (18) criminal transmission of HIV;


9  (19) criminal abuse or neglect of an elderly or 
10 disabled person as described in Section 12-21 or subsection 
11 (b) of Section 12-4.4a;


12  (20) child abandonment;


13  (21) endangering the life or health of a child;


14  (22) ritual mutilation;


15  (23) ritualized abuse of a child;


16  (24) an offense in any other state the elements of 
17 which are similar and
bear a substantial relationship to 
18 any of the foregoing offenses.

19For the purpose of this subsection, "relative" shall include

20any person, 21 years of age or over, other than the parent, who 
21(i) is
currently related to the child in any of the following 
22ways by blood or
adoption: grandparent, sibling, 
23great-grandparent, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece,
first cousin, 
24second cousin, godparent, great-uncle, or great-aunt; or (ii) 
25is
the spouse of such a
relative; or (iii) is the child's 
26step-father, step-mother, or adult
step-brother or 
 
 
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1step-sister; "relative" also includes a person related in any

2of the foregoing ways to a sibling of a child, even though the 
3person is not
related to the child, when the
child and its 
4sibling are placed together with that person. For children who 
5have been in the guardianship of the Department, have been 
6adopted, and are subsequently returned to the temporary custody 
7or guardianship of the Department, a "relative" may also 
8include any person who would have qualified as a relative under 
9this paragraph prior to the adoption, but only if the 
10Department determines, and documents, that it would be in the 
11child's best interests to consider this person a relative, 
12based upon the factors for determining best interests set forth 
13in subsection (4.05) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act 
14of 1987. A relative with
whom a child is placed pursuant to 
15this subsection may, but is not required to,
apply for 
16licensure as a foster family home pursuant to the Child Care 
17Act of
1969; provided, however, that as of July 1, 1995, foster 
18care payments shall be
made only to licensed foster family 
19homes pursuant to the terms of Section 5 of
this Act.

20 (c) In placing a child under this Act, the Department shall 
21ensure that
the child's health, safety, and best interests are 
22met.
In rejecting placement of a child with an identified 
23relative, the Department shall ensure that the child's health, 
24safety, and best interests are met. In evaluating the best 
25interests of the child, the Department shall take into 
26consideration the factors set forth in subsection (4.05) of 
 
 
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1Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.

2 The Department shall consider the individual needs of the

3child and the capacity of the prospective foster or adoptive

4parents to meet the needs of the child. When a child must be 
5placed
outside his or her home and cannot be immediately 
6returned to his or her
parents or guardian, a comprehensive, 
7individualized assessment shall be
performed of that child at 
8which time the needs of the child shall be
determined. Only if 
9race, color, or national origin is identified as a
legitimate 
10factor in advancing the child's best interests shall it be

11considered. Race, color, or national origin shall not be 
12routinely
considered in making a placement decision. The 
13Department shall make
special
efforts for the diligent 
14recruitment of potential foster and adoptive families
that 
15reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of the children for 
16whom foster
and adoptive homes are needed. "Special efforts" 
17shall include contacting and
working with community 
18organizations and religious organizations and may
include 
19contracting with those organizations, utilizing local media 
20and other
local resources, and conducting outreach activities.

21 (c-1) At the time of placement, the Department shall 
22consider concurrent
planning, as described in subsection (l-1) 
23of Section 5, so that permanency may
occur at the earliest 
24opportunity. Consideration should be given so that if

25reunification fails or is delayed, the placement made is the 
26best available
placement to provide permanency for the child.

 
 
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1 (d) The Department may accept gifts, grants, offers of 
2services, and
other contributions to use in making special 
3recruitment efforts.

4 (e) The Department in placing children in adoptive or 
5foster care homes
may not, in any policy or practice relating 
6to the placement of children for
adoption or foster care, 
7discriminate against any child or prospective adoptive
or 
8foster parent on the basis of race.

9(Source: P.A. 96-1551, Article 1, Section 900, eff. 7-1-11; 
1096-1551, Article 2, Section 920, eff. 7-1-11; 97-1076, eff. 
118-24-12; 97-1109, eff. 1-1-13; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)".