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| | 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
HB4736 Introduced , by Rep. Monique D. Davis SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
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750 ILCS 50/1 | from Ch. 40, par. 1501 |
750 ILCS 50/8 | from Ch. 40, par. 1510 |
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Amends the Adoption Act. Where consents are required for the adoption of a minor child, requires the consent of the minor child's relatives in addition to the consents of the minor child's parents. Provides that the court shall deem the consent to be given upon a showing that each relative from who consent must be obtained has either given consent or has failed to file a petition for guardianship of the minor child within 30 days of receiving the written request for consent. Provides that if the mother or father of the minor child objects to the requirement that consent be obtained from the relatives of the minor child, the court may waive the requirement if, after a hearing for which all relatives are provided notice, the court finds that it is not in the best interests of the minor child to require consent from the relatives of the minor child. Makes corresponding changes.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning civil law.
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| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | | Section 5. The Adoption Act is amended by changing Sections |
| 5 | | 1 and 8 as follows:
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| 6 | | (750 ILCS 50/1) (from Ch. 40, par. 1501)
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| 7 | | Sec. 1. Definitions. When used in this Act, unless the |
| 8 | | context
otherwise requires:
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| 9 | | A. "Child" means a person under legal age subject to |
| 10 | | adoption under
this Act.
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| 11 | | B. "Related child" means a child subject to adoption where |
| 12 | | either or both of
the adopting parents stands in any of the |
| 13 | | following relationships to the child
by blood or marriage: |
| 14 | | parent, grand-parent, brother, sister, step-parent,
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| 15 | | step-grandparent, step-brother, step-sister, uncle, aunt, |
| 16 | | great-uncle,
great-aunt, or cousin of first degree. A child |
| 17 | | whose relatives have parent has executed
a final irrevocable |
| 18 | | consent to adoption or a final irrevocable surrender
for |
| 19 | | purposes of adoption, or whose parent has had his or her |
| 20 | | parental rights
terminated, is not a related child to that |
| 21 | | person, unless the consent is
determined to be void or is void |
| 22 | | pursuant to subsection O of Section 10.
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| 23 | | C. "Agency" for the purpose of this Act means a public |
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| 1 | | child welfare agency
or a licensed child welfare agency.
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| 2 | | D. "Unfit person" means any person whom the court shall |
| 3 | | find to be unfit
to have a child, without regard to the |
| 4 | | likelihood that the child will be
placed for adoption. The |
| 5 | | grounds of unfitness are any one or more
of the following, |
| 6 | | except that a person shall not be considered an unfit
person |
| 7 | | for the sole reason that the person has relinquished a child in
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| 8 | | accordance with the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act:
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| 9 | | (a) Abandonment of the child.
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| 10 | | (a-1) Abandonment of a newborn infant in a hospital.
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| 11 | | (a-2) Abandonment of a newborn infant in any setting |
| 12 | | where the evidence
suggests that the parent intended to |
| 13 | | relinquish his or her parental rights.
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| 14 | | (b) Failure to maintain a reasonable degree of |
| 15 | | interest, concern or
responsibility as to the child's |
| 16 | | welfare.
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| 17 | | (c) Desertion of the child for more than 3 months next |
| 18 | | preceding the
commencement of the Adoption proceeding.
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| 19 | | (d) Substantial neglect
of the
child if continuous or |
| 20 | | repeated.
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| 21 | | (d-1) Substantial neglect, if continuous or repeated, |
| 22 | | of any child
residing in the household which resulted in |
| 23 | | the death of that child.
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| 24 | | (e) Extreme or repeated cruelty to the child.
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| 25 | | (f) There is a rebuttable presumption, which can be |
| 26 | | overcome only by clear and convincing evidence, that a |
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| 1 | | parent is unfit if:
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| 2 | | (1) Two or more findings of physical abuse have |
| 3 | | been entered regarding any children under Section 2-21 |
| 4 | | of the Juvenile Court Act
of 1987, the most recent of |
| 5 | | which was determined by the juvenile court
hearing the |
| 6 | | matter to be supported by clear and convincing |
| 7 | | evidence; or |
| 8 | | (2) The parent has been convicted or found not |
| 9 | | guilty by reason of insanity and the conviction or |
| 10 | | finding resulted from the death of any child by |
| 11 | | physical abuse; or
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| 12 | | (3) There is a finding of physical child abuse |
| 13 | | resulting from the death of any
child under Section |
| 14 | | 2-21 of the
Juvenile Court Act of 1987. |
| 15 | | No conviction or finding of delinquency pursuant |
| 16 | | to Article V 5 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 shall |
| 17 | | be considered a criminal conviction for the purpose of |
| 18 | | applying any presumption under this item (f).
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| 19 | | (g) Failure to protect the child from conditions within |
| 20 | | his environment
injurious to the child's welfare.
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| 21 | | (h) Other neglect of, or misconduct toward the child; |
| 22 | | provided that in
making a finding of unfitness the court |
| 23 | | hearing the adoption proceeding
shall not be bound by any |
| 24 | | previous finding, order or judgment affecting
or |
| 25 | | determining the rights of the parents toward the child |
| 26 | | sought to be adopted
in any other proceeding except such |
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| 1 | | proceedings terminating parental rights
as shall be had |
| 2 | | under either this Act, the Juvenile Court Act or
the |
| 3 | | Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
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| 4 | | (i) Depravity. Conviction of any one of the following
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| 5 | | crimes shall create a presumption that a parent is depraved |
| 6 | | which can be
overcome only by clear and convincing |
| 7 | | evidence:
(1) first degree murder in violation of paragraph |
| 8 | | 1 or
2 of subsection (a) of Section 9-1 of the Criminal |
| 9 | | Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or conviction
of |
| 10 | | second degree murder in violation of subsection (a) of |
| 11 | | Section 9-2 of the
Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal |
| 12 | | Code of 2012 of a parent of the child to be adopted; (2)
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| 13 | | first degree murder or second degree murder of any child in
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| 14 | | violation of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code |
| 15 | | of 2012; (3)
attempt or conspiracy to commit first degree |
| 16 | | murder or second degree murder
of any child in violation of |
| 17 | | the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012; (4)
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| 18 | | solicitation to commit murder of any child, solicitation to
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| 19 | | commit murder of any child for hire, or solicitation to |
| 20 | | commit second
degree murder of any child in violation of |
| 21 | | the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012; (5)
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| 22 | | predatory criminal sexual assault of a child in violation |
| 23 | | of
Section 11-1.40 or 12-14.1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 |
| 24 | | or the Criminal Code of 2012; (6) heinous battery of any |
| 25 | | child in violation of the Criminal Code of 1961; or (7) |
| 26 | | aggravated battery of any child in violation of the |
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| 1 | | Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012.
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| 2 | | There is a rebuttable presumption that a parent is |
| 3 | | depraved if the parent
has been criminally convicted of at |
| 4 | | least 3 felonies under the laws of this
State or any other |
| 5 | | state, or under federal law, or the criminal laws of any
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| 6 | | United States territory; and at least
one of these
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| 7 | | convictions took place within 5 years of the filing of the |
| 8 | | petition or motion
seeking termination of parental rights.
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| 9 | | There is a rebuttable presumption that a parent is |
| 10 | | depraved if that
parent
has
been criminally convicted of |
| 11 | | either first or second degree murder of any person
as |
| 12 | | defined in the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code |
| 13 | | of 2012 within 10 years of the filing date of
the petition |
| 14 | | or motion to terminate parental rights. |
| 15 | | No conviction or finding of delinquency pursuant to |
| 16 | | Article 5 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 shall be |
| 17 | | considered a criminal conviction for the purpose of |
| 18 | | applying any presumption under this item (i).
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| 19 | | (j) Open and notorious adultery or fornication.
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| 20 | | (j-1) (Blank).
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| 21 | | (k) Habitual drunkenness or addiction to drugs, other |
| 22 | | than those
prescribed by a physician, for at least one year |
| 23 | | immediately
prior to the commencement of the unfitness |
| 24 | | proceeding.
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| 25 | | There is a rebuttable presumption that a parent is |
| 26 | | unfit under this
subsection
with respect to any child to |
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| 1 | | which that parent gives birth where there is a
confirmed
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| 2 | | test result that at birth the child's blood, urine, or |
| 3 | | meconium contained any
amount of a controlled substance as |
| 4 | | defined in subsection (f) of Section 102 of
the Illinois |
| 5 | | Controlled Substances Act or metabolites of such |
| 6 | | substances, the
presence of which in the newborn infant was |
| 7 | | not the result of medical treatment
administered to the |
| 8 | | mother or the newborn infant; and the biological mother of
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| 9 | | this child is the biological mother of at least one other |
| 10 | | child who was
adjudicated a neglected minor under |
| 11 | | subsection (c) of Section 2-3 of the
Juvenile Court Act of |
| 12 | | 1987.
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| 13 | | (l) Failure to demonstrate a reasonable degree of |
| 14 | | interest, concern or
responsibility as to the welfare of a |
| 15 | | new born child during the first 30
days after its birth.
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| 16 | | (m) Failure by a parent (i) to make reasonable efforts |
| 17 | | to correct the
conditions that were the basis for the |
| 18 | | removal of the child from the
parent during any 9-month |
| 19 | | period following the adjudication of neglected or abused |
| 20 | | minor under Section 2-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 |
| 21 | | or dependent minor under Section 2-4 of that Act, or (ii) |
| 22 | | to make reasonable progress
toward the return of the
child |
| 23 | | to the parent during any 9-month period following the |
| 24 | | adjudication of
neglected or abused minor under Section 2-3 |
| 25 | | of the Juvenile Court
Act of 1987 or dependent minor under |
| 26 | | Section 2-4 of that Act.
If a service plan has been |
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| 1 | | established as
required under
Section 8.2 of the Abused and |
| 2 | | Neglected Child Reporting Act to correct the
conditions |
| 3 | | that were the basis for the removal of the child from the |
| 4 | | parent
and if those services were available,
then, for |
| 5 | | purposes of this Act, "failure to make reasonable progress |
| 6 | | toward the
return of the child to the parent" includes the |
| 7 | | parent's failure to substantially fulfill his or her |
| 8 | | obligations
under
the service plan and correct the |
| 9 | | conditions that brought the child into care
during any |
| 10 | | 9-month period
following the adjudication under Section |
| 11 | | 2-3 or 2-4 of the Juvenile Court
Act of 1987. |
| 12 | | Notwithstanding any other provision, when a petition or |
| 13 | | motion seeks to terminate parental rights on the basis of |
| 14 | | item (ii) of this subsection (m), the petitioner shall file |
| 15 | | with the court and serve on the parties a pleading that |
| 16 | | specifies the 9-month period or periods relied on. The |
| 17 | | pleading shall be filed and served on the parties no later |
| 18 | | than 3 weeks before the date set by the court for closure |
| 19 | | of discovery, and the allegations in the pleading shall be |
| 20 | | treated as incorporated into the petition or motion. |
| 21 | | Failure of a respondent to file a written denial of the |
| 22 | | allegations in the pleading shall not be treated as an |
| 23 | | admission that the allegations are true.
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| 24 | | (m-1) Pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, a |
| 25 | | child
has been in foster care for 15 months out of any 22 |
| 26 | | month period which begins
on or after the effective date of |
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| 1 | | this amendatory Act of 1998 unless the
child's parent can |
| 2 | | prove
by a preponderance of the evidence that it is more |
| 3 | | likely than not that it will
be in the best interests of |
| 4 | | the child to be returned to the parent within 6
months of |
| 5 | | the date on which a petition for termination of parental |
| 6 | | rights is
filed under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. The |
| 7 | | 15 month time limit is tolled
during
any period for which |
| 8 | | there is a court finding that the appointed custodian or
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| 9 | | guardian failed to make reasonable efforts to reunify the |
| 10 | | child with his or her
family, provided that (i) the finding |
| 11 | | of no reasonable efforts is made within
60 days of the |
| 12 | | period when reasonable efforts were not made or (ii) the |
| 13 | | parent
filed a motion requesting a finding of no reasonable |
| 14 | | efforts within 60 days of
the period when reasonable |
| 15 | | efforts were not made. For purposes of this
subdivision |
| 16 | | (m-1), the date of entering foster care is the earlier of: |
| 17 | | (i) the
date of
a judicial finding at an adjudicatory |
| 18 | | hearing that the child is an abused,
neglected, or |
| 19 | | dependent minor; or (ii) 60 days after the date on which |
| 20 | | the
child is removed from his or her parent, guardian, or |
| 21 | | legal custodian.
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| 22 | | (n) Evidence of intent to forgo his or her parental |
| 23 | | rights,
whether or
not the child is a ward of the court, |
| 24 | | (1) as manifested
by his or her failure for a period of 12 |
| 25 | | months: (i) to visit the child,
(ii) to communicate with |
| 26 | | the child or agency, although able to do so and
not |
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| 1 | | prevented from doing so by an agency or by court order, or |
| 2 | | (iii) to
maintain contact with or plan for the future of |
| 3 | | the child, although physically
able to do so, or (2) as |
| 4 | | manifested by the father's failure, where he
and the mother |
| 5 | | of the child were unmarried to each other at the time of |
| 6 | | the
child's birth, (i) to commence legal proceedings to |
| 7 | | establish his paternity
under the Illinois Parentage Act of |
| 8 | | 1984 or the law of the jurisdiction of
the child's birth |
| 9 | | within 30 days of being informed, pursuant to Section 12a
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| 10 | | of this Act, that he is the father or the likely father of |
| 11 | | the child or,
after being so informed where the child is |
| 12 | | not yet born, within 30 days of
the child's birth, or (ii) |
| 13 | | to make a good faith effort to pay a reasonable
amount of |
| 14 | | the expenses related to the birth of the child and to |
| 15 | | provide a
reasonable amount for the financial support of |
| 16 | | the child, the court to
consider in its determination all |
| 17 | | relevant circumstances, including the
financial condition |
| 18 | | of both parents; provided that the ground for
termination |
| 19 | | provided in this subparagraph (n)(2)(ii) shall only be
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| 20 | | available where the petition is brought by the mother or |
| 21 | | the husband of
the mother.
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| 22 | | Contact or communication by a parent with his or her |
| 23 | | child that does not
demonstrate affection and concern does |
| 24 | | not constitute reasonable contact
and planning under |
| 25 | | subdivision (n). In the absence of evidence to the
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| 26 | | contrary, the ability to visit, communicate, maintain |
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| 1 | | contact, pay
expenses and plan for the future shall be |
| 2 | | presumed. The subjective intent
of the parent, whether |
| 3 | | expressed or otherwise, unsupported by evidence of
the |
| 4 | | foregoing parental acts manifesting that intent, shall not |
| 5 | | preclude a
determination that the parent has intended to |
| 6 | | forgo his or her
parental
rights. In making this |
| 7 | | determination, the court may consider but shall not
require |
| 8 | | a showing of diligent efforts by an authorized agency to |
| 9 | | encourage
the parent to perform the acts specified in |
| 10 | | subdivision (n).
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| 11 | | It shall be an affirmative defense to any allegation |
| 12 | | under paragraph
(2) of this subsection that the father's |
| 13 | | failure was due to circumstances
beyond his control or to |
| 14 | | impediments created by the mother or any other
person |
| 15 | | having legal custody. Proof of that fact need only be by a
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| 16 | | preponderance of the evidence.
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| 17 | | (o) Repeated or continuous failure by the parents, |
| 18 | | although physically
and financially able, to provide the |
| 19 | | child with adequate food, clothing,
or shelter.
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| 20 | | (p) Inability to discharge parental responsibilities |
| 21 | | supported by
competent evidence from a psychiatrist, |
| 22 | | licensed clinical social
worker, or clinical psychologist |
| 23 | | of mental
impairment, mental illness or an intellectual |
| 24 | | disability as defined in Section
1-116 of the Mental Health |
| 25 | | and Developmental Disabilities Code, or
developmental |
| 26 | | disability as defined in Section 1-106 of that Code, and
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| 1 | | there is sufficient justification to believe that the |
| 2 | | inability to
discharge parental responsibilities shall |
| 3 | | extend beyond a reasonable
time period. However, this |
| 4 | | subdivision (p) shall not be construed so as to
permit a |
| 5 | | licensed clinical social worker to conduct any medical |
| 6 | | diagnosis to
determine mental illness or mental |
| 7 | | impairment.
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| 8 | | (q) (Blank).
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| 9 | | (r) The child is in the temporary custody or |
| 10 | | guardianship of the
Department of Children and Family |
| 11 | | Services, the parent is incarcerated as a
result of |
| 12 | | criminal conviction at the time the petition or motion for
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| 13 | | termination of parental rights is filed, prior to |
| 14 | | incarceration the parent had
little or no contact with the |
| 15 | | child or provided little or no support for the
child, and |
| 16 | | the parent's incarceration will prevent the parent from |
| 17 | | discharging
his or her parental responsibilities for the |
| 18 | | child for a period in excess of 2
years after the filing of |
| 19 | | the petition or motion for termination of parental
rights.
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| 20 | | (s) The child is in the temporary custody or |
| 21 | | guardianship of the
Department of Children and Family |
| 22 | | Services, the parent is incarcerated at the
time the |
| 23 | | petition or motion for termination of parental rights is |
| 24 | | filed, the
parent has been repeatedly incarcerated as a |
| 25 | | result of criminal convictions,
and the parent's repeated |
| 26 | | incarceration has prevented the parent from
discharging |
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| 1 | | his or her parental responsibilities for the child.
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| 2 | | (t) A finding that at birth the child's blood,
urine, |
| 3 | | or meconium contained any amount of a controlled substance |
| 4 | | as
defined in subsection (f) of Section 102 of the Illinois |
| 5 | | Controlled Substances
Act, or a metabolite of a controlled |
| 6 | | substance, with the exception of
controlled substances or |
| 7 | | metabolites of such substances, the presence of which
in |
| 8 | | the newborn infant was the result of medical treatment |
| 9 | | administered to the
mother or the newborn infant, and that |
| 10 | | the biological mother of this child is
the biological |
| 11 | | mother of at least one other child who was adjudicated a
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| 12 | | neglected minor under subsection (c) of Section 2-3 of the |
| 13 | | Juvenile Court Act
of 1987, after which the biological |
| 14 | | mother had the opportunity to enroll in
and participate in |
| 15 | | a clinically appropriate substance abuse
counseling, |
| 16 | | treatment, and rehabilitation program.
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| 17 | | E. "Parent" means the father or mother of a lawful child of |
| 18 | | the parties or child born out of wedlock. For the purpose of |
| 19 | | this Act, a person who has executed a final and
irrevocable |
| 20 | | consent to adoption or a final and irrevocable surrender for
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| 21 | | purposes of adoption, or whose parental rights have been |
| 22 | | terminated by a
court, is not a parent of the child who was the |
| 23 | | subject of the consent or
surrender, unless the consent is void |
| 24 | | pursuant to subsection O of Section 10.
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| 25 | | F. A person is available for adoption when the person is:
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| 26 | | (a) a child who has been surrendered for adoption to an |
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| 1 | | agency and to
whose adoption the agency has thereafter |
| 2 | | consented;
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| 3 | | (b) a child to whose adoption a person authorized by |
| 4 | | law, other than his
parents, has consented, or to whose |
| 5 | | adoption no consent is required pursuant
to Section 8 of |
| 6 | | this Act;
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| 7 | | (c) a child who is in the custody of persons who intend |
| 8 | | to adopt him
through placement made by his parents;
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| 9 | | (c-1) a child for whom a parent has signed a specific |
| 10 | | consent pursuant
to subsection O of Section 10;
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| 11 | | (d) an adult who meets the conditions set forth in |
| 12 | | Section 3 of this
Act; or
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| 13 | | (e) a child who has been relinquished as defined in |
| 14 | | Section 10 of the
Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act.
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| 15 | | A person who would otherwise be available for adoption |
| 16 | | shall not be
deemed unavailable for adoption solely by reason |
| 17 | | of his or her death.
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| 18 | | G. The singular includes the plural and the plural includes
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| 19 | | the singular and the "male" includes the "female", as the |
| 20 | | context of this
Act may require.
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| 21 | | H. "Adoption disruption" occurs when an adoptive placement |
| 22 | | does not
prove successful and it becomes necessary for the |
| 23 | | child to be removed from
placement before the adoption is |
| 24 | | finalized.
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| 25 | | I. "Habitual residence" has the meaning ascribed to it in |
| 26 | | the federal Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 and regulations |
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| 1 | | promulgated thereunder.
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| 2 | | J. "Immediate relatives" means the biological parents, the |
| 3 | | parents of
the biological parents and siblings of the |
| 4 | | biological parents.
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| 5 | | K. "Intercountry adoption" is a process by which a child |
| 6 | | from a country
other than the United States is adopted by |
| 7 | | persons who are habitual residents of the United States, or the |
| 8 | | child is a habitual resident of the United States who is |
| 9 | | adopted by persons who are habitual residents of a country |
| 10 | | other than the United States.
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| 11 | | L. "Intercountry Adoption Coordinator" means a staff |
| 12 | | person of the
Department of Children and Family Services |
| 13 | | appointed by the Director to
coordinate the provision of |
| 14 | | services related to an intercountry adoption.
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| 15 | | M. "Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children" is a |
| 16 | | law enacted by all
states and certain territories for the |
| 17 | | purpose of establishing uniform procedures for handling
the |
| 18 | | interstate placement of children in foster homes, adoptive |
| 19 | | homes, or
other child care facilities.
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| 20 | | N. (Blank).
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| 21 | | O. "Preadoption requirements" means any conditions or |
| 22 | | standards established by the laws or administrative rules of |
| 23 | | this State that must be met by a prospective adoptive parent
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| 24 | | prior to the placement of a child in an adoptive home.
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| 25 | | P. "Abused child" means a child whose parent or immediate |
| 26 | | family member,
or any person responsible for the child's |
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| 1 | | welfare, or any individual
residing in the same home as the |
| 2 | | child, or a paramour of the child's parent:
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| 3 | | (a) inflicts, causes to be inflicted, or allows to be |
| 4 | | inflicted upon
the child physical injury, by other than |
| 5 | | accidental means, that causes
death, disfigurement, |
| 6 | | impairment of physical or emotional health, or loss
or |
| 7 | | impairment of any bodily function;
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| 8 | | (b) creates a substantial risk of physical injury to |
| 9 | | the child by
other than accidental means which would be |
| 10 | | likely to cause death,
disfigurement, impairment of |
| 11 | | physical or emotional health, or loss or
impairment of any |
| 12 | | bodily function;
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| 13 | | (c) commits or allows to be committed any sex offense |
| 14 | | against the child,
as sex offenses are defined in the |
| 15 | | Criminal Code of 2012
and extending those definitions of |
| 16 | | sex offenses to include children under
18 years of age;
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| 17 | | (d) commits or allows to be committed an act or acts of |
| 18 | | torture upon
the child; or
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| 19 | | (e) inflicts excessive corporal punishment.
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| 20 | | Q. "Neglected child" means any child whose parent or other |
| 21 | | person
responsible for the child's welfare withholds or denies |
| 22 | | nourishment or
medically indicated treatment including food or |
| 23 | | care denied solely on the
basis of the present or anticipated |
| 24 | | mental or physical impairment as determined
by a physician |
| 25 | | acting alone or in consultation with other physicians or
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| 26 | | otherwise does not provide the proper or necessary support, |
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| 1 | | education
as required by law, or medical or other remedial care |
| 2 | | recognized under State
law as necessary for a child's |
| 3 | | well-being, or other care necessary for his
or her well-being, |
| 4 | | including adequate food, clothing and shelter; or who
is |
| 5 | | abandoned by his or her parents or other person responsible for |
| 6 | | the child's
welfare.
|
| 7 | | A child shall not be considered neglected or abused for the
|
| 8 | | sole reason that the child's parent or other person responsible |
| 9 | | for his
or her welfare depends upon spiritual means through |
| 10 | | prayer alone for the
treatment or cure of disease or remedial |
| 11 | | care as provided under Section 4
of the Abused and Neglected |
| 12 | | Child Reporting Act.
A child shall not be considered neglected |
| 13 | | or abused for the sole reason that
the child's parent or other |
| 14 | | person responsible for the child's welfare failed
to vaccinate, |
| 15 | | delayed vaccination, or refused vaccination for the child
due |
| 16 | | to a waiver on religious or medical grounds as permitted by |
| 17 | | law.
|
| 18 | | R. "Putative father" means a man who may be a child's |
| 19 | | father, but who (1) is
not married to the child's mother on or |
| 20 | | before the date that the child was or
is to be born and (2) has |
| 21 | | not established paternity of the child in a court
proceeding |
| 22 | | before the filing of a petition for the adoption of the child. |
| 23 | | The
term includes a male who is less than 18 years of age. |
| 24 | | "Putative father" does
not mean a man who is the child's father |
| 25 | | as a result of criminal sexual abuse
or assault as defined |
| 26 | | under Article 11 of the Criminal Code of 2012.
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| 1 | | S. "Standby adoption" means an adoption in which a parent
|
| 2 | | consents to custody and termination of parental rights to |
| 3 | | become
effective upon the occurrence of a future event, which |
| 4 | | is either the death of
the
parent or the request of the parent
|
| 5 | | for the entry of a final judgment of adoption.
|
| 6 | | T. (Blank).
|
| 7 | | U. "Interstate adoption" means the placement of a minor |
| 8 | | child with a prospective adoptive parent for the purpose of |
| 9 | | pursuing an adoption for that child that is subject to the |
| 10 | | provisions of the Interstate Compact on Placement of Children. |
| 11 | | V. "Endorsement letter" means the letter issued by the |
| 12 | | Department of Children and Family Services to document that a |
| 13 | | prospective adoptive parent has met preadoption requirements |
| 14 | | and has been deemed suitable by the Department to adopt a child |
| 15 | | who is the subject of an intercountry adoption. |
| 16 | | W. "Denial letter" means the letter issued by the |
| 17 | | Department of Children and Family Services to document that a |
| 18 | | prospective adoptive parent has not met preadoption |
| 19 | | requirements and has not been deemed suitable by the Department |
| 20 | | to adopt a child who is the subject of an intercountry |
| 21 | | adoption. |
| 22 | | (Source: P.A. 97-227, eff. 1-1-12; 97-1109, eff. 1-1-13; |
| 23 | | 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13; 98-455, eff. 1-1-14; 98-532, eff. |
| 24 | | 1-1-14; revised 9-24-13.)
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| 25 | | (750 ILCS 50/8) (from Ch. 40, par. 1510)
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| 1 | | Sec. 8. Consents to adoption and surrenders for purposes of
|
| 2 | | adoption.
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| 3 | | (a) Except as hereinafter provided in this
Section consents |
| 4 | | or surrenders shall be required in all cases, unless the
person |
| 5 | | whose
consent or surrender would otherwise be required shall be |
| 6 | | found by the
court:
|
| 7 | | (1) to be an unfit person
as defined in Section
1 of |
| 8 | | this Act, by clear and convincing evidence; or
|
| 9 | | (2) not to be the biological or adoptive father of the |
| 10 | | child; or
|
| 11 | | (3) to have waived his parental rights to the child |
| 12 | | under Section 12a or
12.1 or subsection S of Section 10 of
|
| 13 | | this Act; or
|
| 14 | | (4) to be the parent of an adult
sought to be adopted; |
| 15 | | or
|
| 16 | | (5) to be
the father of the child as a result of |
| 17 | | criminal sexual abuse or assault as
defined under Article |
| 18 | | 11 of the Criminal Code of 2012; or
|
| 19 | | (6) to be the father of a child who: |
| 20 | | (i) is a family member of the mother of the child, |
| 21 | | and the mother is under the age of 18 at the time of |
| 22 | | the child's conception; for purposes of this |
| 23 | | subsection, a "family member" is a parent, |
| 24 | | step-parent, grandparent, step-grandparent, sibling, |
| 25 | | or cousin of the first degree, whether by whole blood, |
| 26 | | half-blood, or adoption, as well as a person age 18 or |
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| 1 | | over at the time of the child's conception who has |
| 2 | | resided in the household with the mother continuously |
| 3 | | for at least one year; or |
| 4 | | (ii) is at least 5 years older than the child's |
| 5 | | mother, and the mother was under the age of 17 at the |
| 6 | | time of the child's conception, unless the mother and |
| 7 | | father voluntarily acknowledge the father's paternity |
| 8 | | of the child by marrying or by establishing the |
| 9 | | father's paternity by consent of the parties pursuant |
| 10 | | to the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984 or pursuant to a |
| 11 | | substantially similar statute in another state. |
| 12 | | A criminal conviction of any offense pursuant to |
| 13 | | Section 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50, 11-1.60, |
| 14 | | 11-1.70, 12C-5, 12C-10, 12C-35, 12C-40, 12C-45, 18-6, |
| 15 | | 19-6, or Article 12 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the |
| 16 | | Criminal Code of 2012 is not required.
|
| 17 | | (b) Where consents are required in the case of an adoption
|
| 18 | | of a minor child, the consents of the following persons shall |
| 19 | | be
sufficient:
|
| 20 | | (1) (A) The mother of the minor child; and
|
| 21 | | (A-5) Except as provided in subsection (f) of this |
| 22 | | Section, any of the following individuals related to |
| 23 | | the minor child through the minor child's mother: |
| 24 | | grand-parent, adult brother, adult sister, |
| 25 | | step-parent,
step-grandparent, step-brother, |
| 26 | | step-sister, uncle, aunt, great-uncle,
great-aunt, or |
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| 1 | | cousin of first degree; and
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| 2 | | (B) The father of the minor child, if the father:
|
| 3 | | (i) was married to the mother on the date of |
| 4 | | birth of the child or
within
300 days before the |
| 5 | | birth of the child, except for a husband or former
|
| 6 | | husband who has been found by a court of competent |
| 7 | | jurisdiction not to be the
biological father of the |
| 8 | | child; or
|
| 9 | | (ii) is the father of the child under a |
| 10 | | judgment for adoption, an
order of parentage, or an |
| 11 | | acknowledgment of parentage or paternity pursuant
|
| 12 | | to subsection (a) of Section 5 of the Illinois |
| 13 | | Parentage Act of 1984; or
|
| 14 | | (iii) in the case of a child placed with the |
| 15 | | adopting parents less
than
6 months after birth, |
| 16 | | openly lived with the child, the child's |
| 17 | | biological
mother, or
both,
and
held himself out to |
| 18 | | be the child's biological father during the first |
| 19 | | 30 days
following the birth of the child; or
|
| 20 | | (iv) in the case of a child placed with the |
| 21 | | adopting parents less than
6
months after birth, |
| 22 | | made a good faith effort to pay a reasonable amount |
| 23 | | of the
expenses
related to the birth of the child |
| 24 | | and to provide a reasonable amount for the
|
| 25 | | financial support of the child before the |
| 26 | | expiration of 30 days following the
birth of the |
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| 1 | | child,
provided that the court may consider in its |
| 2 | | determination all
relevant circumstances, |
| 3 | | including the financial condition of both |
| 4 | | biological
parents; or
|
| 5 | | (v) in the case of a child placed with the |
| 6 | | adopting parents
more
than 6 months after birth, |
| 7 | | has maintained substantial and continuous or
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| 8 | | repeated contact with the child as manifested by:
|
| 9 | | (I) the payment by the father
toward the support of |
| 10 | | the child of a fair and reasonable sum, according |
| 11 | | to the
father's means, and either (II) the father's |
| 12 | | visiting the child at least
monthly
when |
| 13 | | physically and financially able to do so and not |
| 14 | | prevented from doing so
by the person or authorized |
| 15 | | agency having lawful custody of the child, or (III)
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| 16 | | the father's regular communication with the child |
| 17 | | or with the person or agency
having the care or |
| 18 | | custody of the child, when physically and |
| 19 | | financially unable
to visit the child or prevented |
| 20 | | from doing so by the person or authorized
agency |
| 21 | | having lawful custody of the child. The subjective |
| 22 | | intent of the
father,
whether expressed or |
| 23 | | otherwise unsupported by evidence of acts |
| 24 | | specified in
this sub-paragraph as manifesting |
| 25 | | such intent, shall not preclude a
determination |
| 26 | | that the father failed to maintain substantial and |
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| 1 | | continuous or
repeated contact with the child; or
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| 2 | | (vi) in the case of a child placed with the |
| 3 | | adopting parents more than
six
months after birth, |
| 4 | | openly lived with the child for a period of six |
| 5 | | months
within the one year period immediately |
| 6 | | preceding the placement of the child for
adoption |
| 7 | | and openly held himself out to be the father of the |
| 8 | | child; or
|
| 9 | | (vii) has timely registered with Putative |
| 10 | | Father Registry, as provided
in
Section 12.1 of |
| 11 | | this Act,
and prior to the expiration of 30 days |
| 12 | | from the date
of such registration, commenced |
| 13 | | legal
proceedings to establish paternity under the |
| 14 | | Illinois Parentage Act of 1984
or under the law of |
| 15 | | the jurisdiction of the child's birth; and or
|
| 16 | | (B-5) Except as provided in subsection (f) of this |
| 17 | | Section, any of the following individuals related to |
| 18 | | the minor child through the minor child's father if the |
| 19 | | consent of the father is required under subdivision |
| 20 | | (1)(B) of this subsection (b): grand-parent, adult |
| 21 | | brother, adult sister, step-parent,
step-grandparent, |
| 22 | | step-brother, step-sister, uncle, aunt, great-uncle,
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| 23 | | great-aunt, or cousin of first degree; or
|
| 24 | | (2) The legal guardian of the person of the child, if |
| 25 | | there
is no surviving parent; or
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| 26 | | (3) An agency, if the child has been surrendered for
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| 1 | | adoption to such agency; or
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| 2 | | (4) Any person or agency having legal custody of a |
| 3 | | child by court order
if the parental rights of the parents |
| 4 | | have been judicially terminated, and
the court having |
| 5 | | jurisdiction of the guardianship of the child has |
| 6 | | authorized
the consent to the adoption; or
|
| 7 | | (5) The execution and
verification of the petition by |
| 8 | | any petitioner who is
also a parent of the child sought to |
| 9 | | be adopted shall be sufficient evidence
of such parent's |
| 10 | | consent to the adoption.
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| 11 | | (c) Where surrenders to an agency are required in the case |
| 12 | | of a placement
for adoption of a minor child by an agency, the |
| 13 | | surrenders of the following
persons shall be sufficient:
|
| 14 | | (1) (A) The mother of the minor child; and
|
| 15 | | (B) The father of the minor child, if the father:
|
| 16 | | (i) was married to the mother on the date of |
| 17 | | birth of the child or
within 300 days before the |
| 18 | | birth of the child, except for a husband or former
|
| 19 | | husband who has been found by a court of competent |
| 20 | | jurisdiction not to be the
biological father of the |
| 21 | | child; or
|
| 22 | | (ii) is the father of the child under a |
| 23 | | judgment for adoption, an
order of parentage, or an |
| 24 | | acknowledgment of parentage or paternity pursuant
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| 25 | | to subsection (a) of Section 5 of the Illinois |
| 26 | | Parentage Act of 1984; or
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| 1 | | (iii) in the case of a child placed with the |
| 2 | | adopting parents less
than
6 months after birth, |
| 3 | | openly lived with the child, the child's |
| 4 | | biological
mother, or
both,
and
held himself out to |
| 5 | | be the child's biological father during the first |
| 6 | | 30 days
following the birth of a child; or
|
| 7 | | (iv) in the case of a child placed with the |
| 8 | | adopting parents less than
6
months after birth, |
| 9 | | made a good faith effort to pay a reasonable amount |
| 10 | | of the
expenses
related to the birth of the child |
| 11 | | and to provide a reasonable amount for the
|
| 12 | | financial support of the child before
the |
| 13 | | expiration of 30 days following the birth of
the
|
| 14 | | child,
provided that the court may consider in its |
| 15 | | determination all relevant
circumstances, |
| 16 | | including the financial condition of both |
| 17 | | biological parents;
or
|
| 18 | | (v) in the case of a child placed with the |
| 19 | | adopting parents more than
six
months after birth, |
| 20 | | has maintained substantial and continuous or |
| 21 | | repeated
contact with the child as manifested by: |
| 22 | | (I) the payment by the father toward
the support of |
| 23 | | the child of a fair and reasonable sum, according |
| 24 | | to the
father's means, and either (II) the father's |
| 25 | | visiting the child at least
monthly when |
| 26 | | physically and financially able to do so and not |
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| 1 | | prevented from
doing so by the person or authorized |
| 2 | | agency having lawful custody of the child
or (III) |
| 3 | | the father's regular communication with the child |
| 4 | | or with the person
or agency having the care or |
| 5 | | custody of the child, when physically and
|
| 6 | | financially unable to visit the child or prevented |
| 7 | | from doing so by the person
or authorized agency |
| 8 | | having lawful custody of the child. The subjective
|
| 9 | | intent of the father, whether expressed or |
| 10 | | otherwise, unsupported by evidence
of acts |
| 11 | | specified in this sub-paragraph as manifesting |
| 12 | | such intent, shall not
preclude a determination |
| 13 | | that the father failed to maintain substantial and
|
| 14 | | continuous or repeated contact with the child; or
|
| 15 | | (vi) in the case of a child placed with the |
| 16 | | adopting parents more than
six
months after birth, |
| 17 | | openly lived with the child for a period of six |
| 18 | | months
within the one year period immediately |
| 19 | | preceding the placement of the child for
adoption |
| 20 | | and openly held himself out to be the father of the |
| 21 | | child; or
|
| 22 | | (vii) has timely registered with the Putative |
| 23 | | Father Registry, as
provided
in Section 12.1 of |
| 24 | | this Act,
and prior to the expiration of 30 days |
| 25 | | from the date
of such
registration, commenced |
| 26 | | legal
proceedings to establish paternity under the |
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| 1 | | Illinois Parentage Act of 1984, or
under the law of |
| 2 | | the jurisdiction of the child's birth .
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| 3 | | (d) In making a determination under subparagraphs (b)(1) |
| 4 | | and (c)(1), no
showing shall be required of diligent efforts by |
| 5 | | a person or agency to
encourage the father to perform the acts |
| 6 | | specified therein.
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| 7 | | (e) In the case of the adoption of an adult, only the |
| 8 | | consent of
such adult shall be required.
|
| 9 | | (f) The court shall deem the consent under subdivisions |
| 10 | | (b)(1)((A-5) and (b)(1)(B-5) of this Section to be given upon a |
| 11 | | showing that: |
| 12 | | (1) each relative from who consent must be obtained has |
| 13 | | been provided with a written request for consent; and |
| 14 | | (2) each relative has either: |
| 15 | | (A) provided consent to the adoption; or |
| 16 | | (B) has failed to file a petition for guardianship |
| 17 | | of the minor child within 30 days of receiving the |
| 18 | | written request for consent. |
| 19 | | If the mother or father of the minor child objects to the |
| 20 | | requirement that consent be obtained from the relatives of the |
| 21 | | minor child identified in subdivisions (b)(1)(A-5) and |
| 22 | | (b)(1)(B-5) of this Section, the court may waive the |
| 23 | | requirement that consent be obtained from the relatives of the |
| 24 | | minor child if, after a hearing for which all relatives are |
| 25 | | provided notice, the court finds that it is not in the best |
| 26 | | interests of the minor child to require consent from the |