Sen. Julie A. Morrison
Filed: 4/5/2019
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| 1 | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1778
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| 2 | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1778, AS AMENDED, | ||||||
| 3 | by replacing everything after the enacting clause with the | ||||||
| 4 | following:
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| 5 | "Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is | ||||||
| 6 | amended by changing Sections 4 and 11.5 as follows:
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| 7 | (325 ILCS 5/4)
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| 8 | Sec. 4. Persons required to report; privileged | ||||||
| 9 | communications;
transmitting false report. | ||||||
| 10 | (a) The following persons are required to immediately | ||||||
| 11 | report to the Department when they have reasonable cause to | ||||||
| 12 | believe that a child known to them in their professional or | ||||||
| 13 | official capacities may be an abused child or a neglected | ||||||
| 14 | child: | ||||||
| 15 | (1) Medical personnel, including any: physician | ||||||
| 16 | licensed to practice medicine in any of its branches | ||||||
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| 1 | (medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy); resident; | ||||||
| 2 | intern; medical administrator or personnel engaged in the | ||||||
| 3 | examination, care, and treatment of persons; psychiatrist; | ||||||
| 4 | surgeon; dentist; dental hygienist; chiropractic | ||||||
| 5 | physician; podiatric physician; physician assistant; | ||||||
| 6 | emergency medical technician; acupuncturist; registered | ||||||
| 7 | nurse; licensed practical nurse; advanced practice | ||||||
| 8 | registered nurse; genetic counselor; respiratory care | ||||||
| 9 | practitioner; home health aide; or certified nursing | ||||||
| 10 | assistant. | ||||||
| 11 | (2) Social services and mental health personnel, | ||||||
| 12 | including any: licensed professional counselor; licensed | ||||||
| 13 | clinical professional counselor; licensed social worker; | ||||||
| 14 | licensed clinical social worker; licensed psychologist or | ||||||
| 15 | assistant working under the direct supervision of a | ||||||
| 16 | psychologist; associate licensed marriage and family | ||||||
| 17 | therapist; licensed marriage and family therapist; field | ||||||
| 18 | personnel of the Departments of Healthcare and Family | ||||||
| 19 | Services, Public Health, Human Services, Human Rights, or | ||||||
| 20 | Children and Family Services; supervisor or administrator | ||||||
| 21 | of the General Assistance program established under | ||||||
| 22 | Article VI of the Illinois Public Aid Code; social services | ||||||
| 23 | administrator; or substance abuse treatment personnel. | ||||||
| 24 | (3) Crisis intervention personnel, including any: | ||||||
| 25 | crisis line or hotline personnel; or domestic violence | ||||||
| 26 | program personnel. | ||||||
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| 1 | (4)
Education personnel, including any: school | ||||||
| 2 | personnel (including administrators and certified and | ||||||
| 3 | non-certified school employees); personnel of institutions | ||||||
| 4 | of higher education; educational advocate assigned to a | ||||||
| 5 | child in accordance with the School Code; member of a | ||||||
| 6 | school board or the Chicago Board of Education or the | ||||||
| 7 | governing body of a private school (but only to the extent | ||||||
| 8 | required under subsection (d)); or truant officer. | ||||||
| 9 | (5)
Recreation or athletic program or facility | ||||||
| 10 | personnel. | ||||||
| 11 | (6)
Child care personnel, including any: early | ||||||
| 12 | intervention provider as defined in the Early Intervention | ||||||
| 13 | Services System Act; director or staff assistant of a | ||||||
| 14 | nursery school or a child day care center; or foster | ||||||
| 15 | parent, homemaker, or child care worker. | ||||||
| 16 | (7)
Law enforcement personnel, including any: law | ||||||
| 17 | enforcement officer; field personnel of the Department of | ||||||
| 18 | Juvenile Justice; field personnel of the Department of | ||||||
| 19 | Corrections; probation officer; or animal control officer | ||||||
| 20 | or field investigator of the Department of Agriculture's | ||||||
| 21 | Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare. | ||||||
| 22 | (8)
Any funeral home director; funeral home director | ||||||
| 23 | and embalmer; funeral home employee; coroner; or medical | ||||||
| 24 | examiner. | ||||||
| 25 | (9)
Any member of the clergy. | ||||||
| 26 | (10) Any physician, physician assistant, registered | ||||||
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| 1 | nurse, licensed practical nurse, medical technician, | ||||||
| 2 | certified nursing assistant, licensed social worker, | ||||||
| 3 | licensed clinical social worker, or licensed professional | ||||||
| 4 | counselor of any office, clinic, or any other physical | ||||||
| 5 | location that provides abortions, abortion referrals, or | ||||||
| 6 | contraceptives. | ||||||
| 7 | (b) When 2 or more persons who work within the same | ||||||
| 8 | workplace and are required to report under this Act share a | ||||||
| 9 | reasonable cause to believe that a child may be an abused or | ||||||
| 10 | neglected child, one of those reporters may be designated to | ||||||
| 11 | make a single report. The report shall include the names and | ||||||
| 12 | contact information for the other mandated reporters sharing | ||||||
| 13 | the reasonable cause to believe that a child may be an abused | ||||||
| 14 | or neglected child. The designated reporter must provide | ||||||
| 15 | written confirmation of the report to those mandated reporters | ||||||
| 16 | within 48 hours. If confirmation is not provided, those | ||||||
| 17 | mandated reporters are individually responsible for | ||||||
| 18 | immediately ensuring a report is made. Nothing in this Section | ||||||
| 19 | precludes or may be used to preclude any person from reporting | ||||||
| 20 | child abuse or child neglect. | ||||||
| 21 | (c)(1) As used in this Section, "a child known to them in | ||||||
| 22 | their professional or official capacities" means: | ||||||
| 23 | (A) the mandated reporter comes into contact with the | ||||||
| 24 | child in the course of the reporter's employment or | ||||||
| 25 | practice of a profession, or through a regularly scheduled | ||||||
| 26 | program, activity, or service; | ||||||
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| 1 | (B) the mandated reporter is affiliated with an agency, | ||||||
| 2 | institution, organization, school, school district, | ||||||
| 3 | regularly established church or religious organization, or | ||||||
| 4 | other entity that is directly responsible for the care, | ||||||
| 5 | supervision, guidance, or training of the child; or | ||||||
| 6 | (C) a person makes a specific disclosure to the | ||||||
| 7 | mandated reporter that an identifiable child is the victim | ||||||
| 8 | of child abuse or child neglect, and the disclosure happens | ||||||
| 9 | while the mandated reporter is engaged in his or her | ||||||
| 10 | employment or practice of a profession, or in a regularly | ||||||
| 11 | scheduled program, activity, or service. | ||||||
| 12 | (2) Nothing in this Section requires a child to come before | ||||||
| 13 | the mandated reporter in order for the reporter to make a | ||||||
| 14 | report of suspected child abuse or child neglect. | ||||||
| 15 | Any physician, resident, intern, hospital,
hospital | ||||||
| 16 | administrator
and personnel engaged in examination, care and | ||||||
| 17 | treatment of persons, surgeon,
dentist, dentist hygienist, | ||||||
| 18 | osteopath, chiropractor, podiatric physician, physician
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| 19 | assistant, substance abuse treatment personnel, funeral home
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| 20 | director or employee, coroner, medical examiner, emergency | ||||||
| 21 | medical technician,
acupuncturist, crisis line or hotline | ||||||
| 22 | personnel, school personnel (including administrators and both | ||||||
| 23 | certified and non-certified school employees), personnel of | ||||||
| 24 | institutions of higher education, educational
advocate | ||||||
| 25 | assigned to a child pursuant to the School Code, member of a | ||||||
| 26 | school board or the Chicago Board of Education or the governing | ||||||
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| 1 | body of a private school (but only to the extent required in | ||||||
| 2 | accordance with other provisions of this Section expressly | ||||||
| 3 | concerning the duty of school board members to report suspected | ||||||
| 4 | child abuse), truant officers,
social worker, social services | ||||||
| 5 | administrator,
domestic violence program personnel, registered | ||||||
| 6 | nurse, licensed
practical nurse, genetic counselor,
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| 7 | respiratory care practitioner, advanced practice registered | ||||||
| 8 | nurse, home
health aide, director or staff
assistant of a | ||||||
| 9 | nursery school or a child day care center, recreational or | ||||||
| 10 | athletic program
or facility personnel, early intervention | ||||||
| 11 | provider as defined in the Early Intervention Services System | ||||||
| 12 | Act, law enforcement officer, licensed professional
counselor, | ||||||
| 13 | licensed clinical professional counselor, registered | ||||||
| 14 | psychologist
and
assistants working under the direct | ||||||
| 15 | supervision of a psychologist,
psychiatrist, or field | ||||||
| 16 | personnel of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services,
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| 17 | Juvenile Justice, Public Health, Human Services (acting as | ||||||
| 18 | successor to the Department of Mental
Health and Developmental | ||||||
| 19 | Disabilities, Rehabilitation Services, or Public Aid),
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| 20 | Corrections, Human Rights, or Children and Family Services, | ||||||
| 21 | supervisor and
administrator of general assistance under the | ||||||
| 22 | Illinois Public Aid Code,
probation officer, animal control | ||||||
| 23 | officer or Illinois Department of Agriculture Bureau of Animal | ||||||
| 24 | Health and Welfare field investigator, or any other foster | ||||||
| 25 | parent, homemaker or child care worker
having reasonable cause | ||||||
| 26 | to believe a child known to them in their professional
or | ||||||
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| 1 | official capacity may be an abused child or a neglected child | ||||||
| 2 | shall
immediately report or cause a report to be made to the | ||||||
| 3 | Department.
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| 4 | Any member of the clergy having reasonable cause to believe | ||||||
| 5 | that a child
known to that member of the clergy in his or her | ||||||
| 6 | professional capacity may be
an abused child as defined in item | ||||||
| 7 | (c) of the definition of "abused child" in
Section 3 of this | ||||||
| 8 | Act shall immediately report or cause a report to be made to
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| 9 | the Department.
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| 10 | Any physician, physician's assistant, registered nurse, | ||||||
| 11 | licensed practical nurse, medical technician, certified | ||||||
| 12 | nursing assistant, social worker, or licensed professional | ||||||
| 13 | counselor of any office, clinic, or any other physical location | ||||||
| 14 | that provides abortions, abortion referrals, or contraceptives | ||||||
| 15 | having reasonable cause to believe a child known to him or her | ||||||
| 16 | in his or her professional
or official capacity may be an | ||||||
| 17 | abused child or a neglected child shall
immediately report or | ||||||
| 18 | cause a report to be made to the Department. | ||||||
| 19 | (d) If an allegation is raised to a school board member | ||||||
| 20 | during the course of an open or closed school board meeting | ||||||
| 21 | that a child who is enrolled in the school district of which he | ||||||
| 22 | or she is a board member is an abused child as defined in | ||||||
| 23 | Section 3 of this Act, the member shall direct or cause the | ||||||
| 24 | school board to direct the superintendent of the school | ||||||
| 25 | district or other equivalent school administrator to comply | ||||||
| 26 | with the requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of | ||||||
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| 1 | child abuse. For purposes of this paragraph, a school board | ||||||
| 2 | member is granted the authority in his or her individual | ||||||
| 3 | capacity to direct the superintendent of the school district or | ||||||
| 4 | other equivalent school administrator to comply with the | ||||||
| 5 | requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of child | ||||||
| 6 | abuse.
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| 7 | Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, if an | ||||||
| 8 | employee of a school district has made a report or caused a | ||||||
| 9 | report to be made to the Department under this Act involving | ||||||
| 10 | the conduct of a current or former employee of the school | ||||||
| 11 | district and a request is made by another school district for | ||||||
| 12 | the provision of information concerning the job performance or | ||||||
| 13 | qualifications of the current or former employee because he or | ||||||
| 14 | she is an applicant for employment with the requesting school | ||||||
| 15 | district, the general superintendent of the school district to | ||||||
| 16 | which the request is being made must disclose to the requesting | ||||||
| 17 | school district the fact that an employee of the school | ||||||
| 18 | district has made a report involving the conduct of the | ||||||
| 19 | applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department, as | ||||||
| 20 | required under this Act. Only the fact that an employee of the | ||||||
| 21 | school district has made a report involving the conduct of the | ||||||
| 22 | applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department may | ||||||
| 23 | be disclosed by the general superintendent of the school | ||||||
| 24 | district to which the request for information concerning the | ||||||
| 25 | applicant is made, and this fact may be disclosed only in cases | ||||||
| 26 | where the employee and the general superintendent have not been | ||||||
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| 1 | informed by the Department that the allegations were unfounded. | ||||||
| 2 | An employee of a school district who is or has been the subject | ||||||
| 3 | of a report made pursuant to this Act during his or her | ||||||
| 4 | employment with the school district must be informed by that | ||||||
| 5 | school district that if he or she applies for employment with | ||||||
| 6 | another school district, the general superintendent of the | ||||||
| 7 | former school district, upon the request of the school district | ||||||
| 8 | to which the employee applies, shall notify that requesting | ||||||
| 9 | school district that the employee is or was the subject of such | ||||||
| 10 | a report.
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| 11 | (e) Whenever
such person is required to report under this | ||||||
| 12 | Act in his capacity as a member of
the staff of a medical or | ||||||
| 13 | other public or private institution, school, facility
or | ||||||
| 14 | agency, or as a member of the clergy, he shall
make report | ||||||
| 15 | immediately to the Department in accordance
with the provisions | ||||||
| 16 | of this Act and may also notify the person in charge of
such | ||||||
| 17 | institution, school, facility or agency, or church, synagogue, | ||||||
| 18 | temple,
mosque, or other religious institution, or his
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| 19 | designated agent that such
report has been made. Under no | ||||||
| 20 | circumstances shall any person in charge of
such institution, | ||||||
| 21 | school, facility or agency, or church, synagogue, temple,
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| 22 | mosque, or other religious institution, or his
designated agent | ||||||
| 23 | to whom
such notification has been made, exercise any control, | ||||||
| 24 | restraint, modification
or other change in the report or the | ||||||
| 25 | forwarding of such report to the
Department.
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| 26 | (f) In addition to the persons required to report suspected | ||||||
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| 1 | cases of child abuse or child neglect under this Section, any | ||||||
| 2 | other person may make a report if such person has reasonable | ||||||
| 3 | cause to believe a child may be an abused child or a neglected | ||||||
| 4 | child. | ||||||
| 5 | (g) The privileged quality of communication between any | ||||||
| 6 | professional
person required to report
and his patient or | ||||||
| 7 | client shall not apply to situations involving abused or
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| 8 | neglected children and shall not constitute grounds for failure | ||||||
| 9 | to report
as required by this Act or constitute grounds for | ||||||
| 10 | failure to share information or documents with the Department | ||||||
| 11 | during the course of a child abuse or neglect investigation. If | ||||||
| 12 | requested by the professional, the Department shall confirm in | ||||||
| 13 | writing that the information or documents disclosed by the | ||||||
| 14 | professional were gathered in the course of a child abuse or | ||||||
| 15 | neglect investigation.
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| 16 | The reporting requirements of this Act shall not apply to | ||||||
| 17 | the contents of a privileged communication between an attorney | ||||||
| 18 | and his or her client or to confidential information within the | ||||||
| 19 | meaning of Rule 1.6 of the Illinois Rules of Professional | ||||||
| 20 | Conduct relating to the legal representation of an individual | ||||||
| 21 | client. | ||||||
| 22 | A member of the clergy may claim the privilege under | ||||||
| 23 | Section 8-803 of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
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| 24 | (h) Any office, clinic, or any other physical location that | ||||||
| 25 | provides abortions, abortion referrals, or contraceptives | ||||||
| 26 | shall provide to all office personnel copies of written | ||||||
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| 1 | information and training materials about abuse and neglect and | ||||||
| 2 | the requirements of this Act that are provided to employees of | ||||||
| 3 | the office, clinic, or physical location who are required to | ||||||
| 4 | make reports to the Department under this Act, and instruct | ||||||
| 5 | such office personnel to bring to the attention of an employee | ||||||
| 6 | of the office, clinic, or physical location who is required to | ||||||
| 7 | make reports to the Department under this Act any reasonable | ||||||
| 8 | suspicion that a child known to him or her in his or her | ||||||
| 9 | professional or official capacity may be an abused child or a | ||||||
| 10 | neglected child. In addition to the above persons required to
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| 11 | report suspected cases of abused or neglected children, any | ||||||
| 12 | other person
may make a report if such person has reasonable | ||||||
| 13 | cause to believe a child
may be an abused child or a neglected | ||||||
| 14 | child.
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| 15 | (i) Any person who enters into
employment on and after July | ||||||
| 16 | 1, 1986 and is mandated by virtue of that
employment to report | ||||||
| 17 | under this Act, shall sign a statement on a form
prescribed by | ||||||
| 18 | the Department, to the effect that the employee has knowledge
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| 19 | and understanding of the reporting requirements of this Act. On | ||||||
| 20 | and after January 1, 2019, the statement
shall also include | ||||||
| 21 | information about available mandated reporter training | ||||||
| 22 | provided by the Department. The statement
shall be signed prior | ||||||
| 23 | to commencement of the employment. The signed
statement shall | ||||||
| 24 | be retained by the employer. The cost of printing,
| ||||||
| 25 | distribution, and filing of the statement shall be borne by the | ||||||
| 26 | employer.
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| 1 | (j) Persons Within one year of initial employment and at | ||||||
| 2 | least every 5 years thereafter, school personnel required to | ||||||
| 3 | report child abuse or child neglect as provided under this | ||||||
| 4 | Section must complete mandated reporter training within 3 | ||||||
| 5 | months of their date of engagement in a professional or | ||||||
| 6 | official capacity as a mandated reporter, and at least every 3 | ||||||
| 7 | years thereafter. The initial 3-month requirement only applies | ||||||
| 8 | to the first time they engage in their professional or official | ||||||
| 9 | capacity and may be extended to 6 months pursuant to any other | ||||||
| 10 | applicable State law that governs training requirements for a | ||||||
| 11 | specific profession. In lieu of training every 3 years, medical | ||||||
| 12 | personnel, as listed in paragraph (1) of subsection (a), must | ||||||
| 13 | meet the requirements described in subsection (k). | ||||||
| 14 | The trainings shall be in-person or web-based, and shall | ||||||
| 15 | include, at a minimum, information on the following topics: (i) | ||||||
| 16 | indicators for recognizing child abuse and child neglect, as | ||||||
| 17 | defined under this Act; (ii) the process for reporting | ||||||
| 18 | suspected child abuse and child neglect in Illinois as required | ||||||
| 19 | by this Act and the required documentation; (iii) responding to | ||||||
| 20 | a child in a trauma-informed manner; and (iv) understanding the | ||||||
| 21 | response of child protective services and the role of the | ||||||
| 22 | reporter after a call has been made. Child-serving | ||||||
| 23 | organizations are encouraged to provide in-person annual | ||||||
| 24 | trainings. | ||||||
| 25 | The mandated reporter training shall be provided through | ||||||
| 26 | the Department, through an entity authorized to provide | ||||||
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| |||||||
| 1 | continuing education for professionals licensed through the | ||||||
| 2 | Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the State | ||||||
| 3 | Board of Education, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training | ||||||
| 4 | Standards Board, or the Department of State Police, or through | ||||||
| 5 | an organization approved by the Department to provide mandated | ||||||
| 6 | reporter training. The Department must make available a free | ||||||
| 7 | web-based training for reporters. | ||||||
| 8 | Each mandated reporter shall report to his or her employer | ||||||
| 9 | and, when applicable, to his or her licensing or certification | ||||||
| 10 | board that he or she received the mandated reporter training. | ||||||
| 11 | The mandated reporter shall maintain records of completion. | ||||||
| 12 | Beginning January 1, 2021, if a mandated reporter receives | ||||||
| 13 | licensure from the Department of Financial and Professional | ||||||
| 14 | Regulation or the State Board of Education, and his or her | ||||||
| 15 | profession has continuing education requirements, the training | ||||||
| 16 | mandated under this Section shall count toward meeting the | ||||||
| 17 | licensee's required continuing education hours. | ||||||
| 18 | by a provider or agency with expertise in recognizing and | ||||||
| 19 | reporting child abuse. | ||||||
| 20 | (k)(1) Medical personnel, as listed in paragraph (1) of | ||||||
| 21 | subsection (a), who work with children in their professional or | ||||||
| 22 | official capacity, must complete mandated reporter training at | ||||||
| 23 | least every 6 years. Such medical personnel, if licensed, must | ||||||
| 24 | attest at each time of licensure renewal on their renewal form | ||||||
| 25 | that they understand they are a mandated reporter of child | ||||||
| 26 | abuse and neglect, that they are aware of the process for | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | making a report, that they know how to respond to a child in a | ||||||
| 2 | trauma-informed manner, and that they are aware of the role of | ||||||
| 3 | child protective services and the role of a reporter after a | ||||||
| 4 | call has been made. | ||||||
| 5 | (2) In lieu of repeated training, medical personnel, as | ||||||
| 6 | listed in paragraph (1) of subsection (a), who do not work with | ||||||
| 7 | children in their professional or official capacity, may | ||||||
| 8 | instead attest each time at licensure renewal on their renewal | ||||||
| 9 | form that they understand they are a mandated reporter of child | ||||||
| 10 | abuse and neglect, that they are aware of the process for | ||||||
| 11 | making a report, that they know how to respond to a child in a | ||||||
| 12 | trauma-informed manner, and that they are aware of the role of | ||||||
| 13 | child protective services and the role of a reporter after a | ||||||
| 14 | call has been made. Nothing in this paragraph precludes medical | ||||||
| 15 | personnel from completing mandated reporter training and | ||||||
| 16 | receiving continuing education credits for that training. | ||||||
| 17 | (l) The Department shall provide copies of this Act, upon | ||||||
| 18 | request, to all
employers employing persons who shall be | ||||||
| 19 | required under the provisions of
this Section to report under | ||||||
| 20 | this Act.
| ||||||
| 21 | (m) Any person who knowingly transmits a false report to | ||||||
| 22 | the Department
commits the offense of disorderly conduct under | ||||||
| 23 | subsection (a)(7) of
Section 26-1 of the Criminal Code of 2012. | ||||||
| 24 | A violation of this provision is a Class 4 felony.
| ||||||
| 25 | Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any | ||||||
| 26 | provision of this
Section other than a second or subsequent | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | violation of transmitting a
false report as described in the
| ||||||
| 2 | preceding paragraph, is guilty of a
Class A misdemeanor for
a | ||||||
| 3 | first violation and a Class
4 felony for a
second or subsequent | ||||||
| 4 | violation; except that if the person acted as part
of a plan or | ||||||
| 5 | scheme having as its object the
prevention of discovery of an | ||||||
| 6 | abused or neglected child by lawful authorities
for the
purpose | ||||||
| 7 | of protecting or insulating any person or entity from arrest or
| ||||||
| 8 | prosecution, the
person is guilty of a Class 4 felony for a | ||||||
| 9 | first offense and a Class 3 felony
for a second or
subsequent | ||||||
| 10 | offense (regardless of whether the second or subsequent offense
| ||||||
| 11 | involves any
of the same facts or persons as the first or other | ||||||
| 12 | prior offense).
| ||||||
| 13 | (n) A child whose parent, guardian or custodian in good | ||||||
| 14 | faith selects and depends
upon spiritual means through prayer | ||||||
| 15 | alone for the treatment or cure of
disease or remedial care may | ||||||
| 16 | be considered neglected or abused, but not for
the sole reason | ||||||
| 17 | that his parent, guardian or custodian accepts and
practices | ||||||
| 18 | such beliefs.
| ||||||
| 19 | (o) A child shall not be considered neglected or abused | ||||||
| 20 | solely because the
child is not attending school in accordance | ||||||
| 21 | with the requirements of
Article 26 of the School Code, as | ||||||
| 22 | amended.
| ||||||
| 23 | (p) Nothing in this Act prohibits a mandated reporter who | ||||||
| 24 | reasonably believes that an animal is being abused or neglected | ||||||
| 25 | in violation of the Humane Care for Animals Act from reporting | ||||||
| 26 | animal abuse or neglect to the Department of Agriculture's | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare. | ||||||
| 2 | (q) A home rule unit may not regulate the reporting of | ||||||
| 3 | child abuse or neglect in a manner inconsistent with the | ||||||
| 4 | provisions of this Section. This Section is a limitation under | ||||||
| 5 | subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois | ||||||
| 6 | Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of | ||||||
| 7 | powers and functions exercised by the State. | ||||||
| 8 | (r) For purposes of this Section "child abuse or neglect" | ||||||
| 9 | includes abuse or neglect of an adult resident as defined in | ||||||
| 10 | this Act. | ||||||
| 11 | (Source: P.A. 100-513, eff. 1-1-18; 100-1071, eff. 1-1-19.)
| ||||||
| 12 | (325 ILCS 5/11.5) (from Ch. 23, par. 2061.5)
| ||||||
| 13 | Sec. 11.5. Public awareness program. | ||||||
| 14 | (a) No later than 6 months after the effective date of this | ||||||
| 15 | amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly, the Department of | ||||||
| 16 | Children and Family Services shall develop culturally | ||||||
| 17 | sensitive materials on child abuse and child neglect, the | ||||||
| 18 | statewide toll-free telephone number established under Section | ||||||
| 19 | 7.6, and the process for reporting any reasonable suspicion of | ||||||
| 20 | child abuse or child neglect. | ||||||
| 21 | The Department shall reach out to businesses and | ||||||
| 22 | organizations to seek assistance in raising awareness about | ||||||
| 23 | child abuse and child neglect and the statewide toll-free | ||||||
| 24 | telephone number established under Section 7.6, including | ||||||
| 25 | posting notices. The Department shall make a model notice | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | available for download on the Department's website. The model | ||||||
| 2 | notice shall: | ||||||
| 3 | (1) be available in English, Spanish, and the 2 other | ||||||
| 4 | languages most widely spoken in the State; | ||||||
| 5 | (2) be at least 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches in size and | ||||||
| 6 | written in a 16-point font; | ||||||
| 7 | (3) include the following statement: | ||||||
| 8 | "Protecting children is a responsibility we all | ||||||
| 9 | share. It is important for every person to take child | ||||||
| 10 | abuse and child neglect seriously, to be able to | ||||||
| 11 | recognize when it happens, and to know what to do next. | ||||||
| 12 | If you have reason to believe a child you know is being | ||||||
| 13 | abused or neglected, call the State's child abuse | ||||||
| 14 | hotline; and | ||||||
| 15 | (4) include the statewide toll-free telephone number | ||||||
| 16 | established under Section 7.6, and the Department's | ||||||
| 17 | website address where more information about child abuse | ||||||
| 18 | and child neglect is available. | ||||||
| 19 | (b) Within the appropriation available, the Department | ||||||
| 20 | shall conduct
a continuing education and training program for | ||||||
| 21 | State and local staff,
persons and officials required to | ||||||
| 22 | report, the general public, and other
persons engaged in or | ||||||
| 23 | intending to engage in the prevention, identification,
and | ||||||
| 24 | treatment of child abuse and neglect. The program shall be | ||||||
| 25 | designed
to encourage the fullest degree of reporting of known | ||||||
| 26 | and suspected child
abuse and neglect, and to improve | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | communication, cooperation, and coordination
among all | ||||||
| 2 | agencies in the identification, prevention, and treatment of | ||||||
| 3 | child
abuse and neglect. The program shall inform the general | ||||||
| 4 | public and
professionals of the nature and extent of child | ||||||
| 5 | abuse and neglect and their
responsibilities, obligations, | ||||||
| 6 | powers and immunity from liability under
this Act. It may | ||||||
| 7 | include information on the diagnosis of child abuse and
neglect | ||||||
| 8 | and the roles and procedures of the Child Protective Service | ||||||
| 9 | Unit,
the Department and central register, the courts and of | ||||||
| 10 | the protective,
treatment, and ameliorative
services available | ||||||
| 11 | to children and their families. Such information may
also | ||||||
| 12 | include special needs of mothers at risk of delivering a child | ||||||
| 13 | whose
life or development may be threatened by a disabling | ||||||
| 14 | condition, to ensure
informed consent to treatment of the | ||||||
| 15 | condition and understanding of the
unique child care | ||||||
| 16 | responsibilities required for such a child. The program
may | ||||||
| 17 | also encourage parents and other persons
having responsibility | ||||||
| 18 | for the welfare of children to seek assistance on
their own in | ||||||
| 19 | meeting their child care responsibilities and encourage the
| ||||||
| 20 | voluntary acceptance of available services when they are | ||||||
| 21 | needed. It may
also include publicity and dissemination of | ||||||
| 22 | information on the existence
and number of the 24 hour, | ||||||
| 23 | State-wide, toll-free telephone service to assist
persons | ||||||
| 24 | seeking assistance and to receive reports of known and | ||||||
| 25 | suspected
abuse and neglect.
| ||||||
| 26 | (c) Within the appropriation available, the Department | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | also shall conduct
a continuing education and training program | ||||||
| 2 | for State and local staff
involved in investigating reports of | ||||||
| 3 | child abuse or neglect made under this
Act. The program shall | ||||||
| 4 | be designed to train such staff in the necessary
and | ||||||
| 5 | appropriate procedures to be followed in investigating cases | ||||||
| 6 | which it
appears may result in civil or criminal charges being | ||||||
| 7 | filed against a
person. Program subjects shall include but not | ||||||
| 8 | be limited to the gathering
of evidence with a view toward | ||||||
| 9 | presenting such evidence in court and the
involvement of State | ||||||
| 10 | or local law enforcement agencies in the investigation.
The | ||||||
| 11 | program shall be conducted in cooperation with State or local | ||||||
| 12 | law
enforcement agencies, State's Attorneys and other | ||||||
| 13 | components of the
criminal justice system as the Department | ||||||
| 14 | deems appropriate.
| ||||||
| 15 | (Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)".
| ||||||