Section 336.120  The Administrative Law Judge

a)         Appointment of the Administrative Law Judge

            The Chief Administrative Law Judge shall select a trained, impartial Administrative Law Judge from the available pool to conduct the appeal hearing. The Administrative Law Judge shall:

1)         be an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of Illinois;

2)         possess knowledge and information acquired through training and/or experience relevant to the field of child and family welfare law, including familiarity with Department rules, procedures and functions;

3)         not have been involved in the decision to take the action being appealed or have rendered legal advice to the decision-maker on the issue; and

4)         not have a personal or professional interest that interferes with exercising objectivity or have any bias against the parties or issues appealed. An adverse ruling, in and of itself, shall not constitute bias or conflict of interest.

b)         Functions of the Administrative Law Judge

            The Administrative Law Judge shall have all authority allowed under the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act [5 ILCS 100].  This authority shall include, but is not limited to, the following:

1)         conduct a fair, impartial and formal hearing in which the strict rules of evidence do not apply;

2)         provide for the recording of the hearing;

3)         inform participants of their individual rights and their responsibilities;

4)         conduct pre-hearing telephone conferences between the parties or their authorized representatives to provide information about the procedural aspects of the hearing, narrow the issues and discuss possible stipulations and contested points of law, in order to expedite the actual hearing;

5)         have the authority to recommend changes in the child abuse and neglect report in the State Central Register;

6)         take necessary steps to develop a full and fair record that contains all relevant facts;

7)         administer an oath or an affirmation to all witnesses;

8)         quash or modify subpoenas for good cause, including but not limited to relevance, scope, materiality and emotional harm or trauma to the subpoenaed witness;

9)         allow into evidence all evidence helpful in determining whether an alleged perpetrator abused or neglected a child, including oral and written reports, which the Administrative Law Judge and the Director may rely upon to the extent of its probative value, even though not competent under the civil rules of evidence;

10)       allow into evidence previous statements made by the child relating to abuse or neglect as hearsay exceptions;

11)       preserve all documents and evidence for the record;

12)       rule upon evidentiary issues and contested issues of law at the hearing or take matters under advisement pending issuance of the written opinion and recommendation;

13)       order the removal of any person from the hearing room who is creating a disturbance, whether by physical actions, profanity or conduct, which disrupts the hearing;

14)       identify the issues, consider all relevant facts and receive or request any additional information necessary to decide the matter in dispute, including but not limited to additional testimony, documents, exhibits, briefs, memoranda of law or post hearing briefs; and

15)       present a written opinion and recommendation to the Director within 15 calendar days after the record of the administrative hearing is completed or transcript is received, whichever is later. This report shall include a recommended decision on whether there is a preponderance of evidence of abuse or neglect based on information in the administrative record.  The opinion shall contain findings of fact, conclusions of law and a recommendation.

(Source:  Amended at 24 Ill. Reg. 7660, effective June 1, 2000)