Public Act 100-0344
 
HB0703 EnrolledLRB100 06805 HEP 16854 b

    AN ACT concerning civil law.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Adoption Act is amended by changing Section
4.1 as follows:
 
    (750 ILCS 50/4.1)  (from Ch. 40, par. 1506)
    Sec. 4.1. Adoption between multiple jurisdictions. It is
the public policy of this State to promote child welfare in
adoption between multiple jurisdictions by implementing
standards that foster permanency for children in an expeditious
manner while considering the best interests of the child as
paramount. Ensuring that standards for interjurisdictional
adoption are clear and applied consistently, efficiently, and
reasonably will promote the best interests of the child in
finding a permanent home.
    (a) The Department of Children and Family Services shall
promulgate rules regarding the approval and regulation of
agencies providing, in this State, adoption services, as
defined in Section 2.24 of the Child Care Act of 1969, which
shall include, but not be limited to, a requirement that any
agency shall be licensed in this State as a child welfare
agency as defined in Section 2.08 of the Child Care Act of
1969. Any out-of-state agency, if not licensed in this State as
a child welfare agency, must obtain the approval of the
Department in order to act as a sending agency, as defined in
Section 1 of the Interstate Compact on Placement of Children
Act, seeking to place a child into this State through a
placement subject to the Interstate Compact on the Placement of
Children. An out-of-state agency, if not licensed in this State
as a child welfare agency, is prohibited from providing in this
State adoption services, as defined by Section 2.24 of the
Child Care Act of 1969; shall comply with Section 12C-70 of the
Criminal Code of 2012; and shall provide all of the following
to the Department:
        (1) A copy of the agency's current license or other
    form of authorization from the approving authority in the
    agency's state. If no license or authorization is issued,
    the agency must provide a reference statement, from the
    approving authority, stating that the agency is authorized
    to place children in foster care or adoption or both in its
    jurisdiction.
        (2) A description of the program, including home
    studies, placements, and supervisions, that the child
    placing agency conducts within its geographical area, and,
    if applicable, adoptive placements and the finalization of
    adoptions. The child placing agency must accept continued
    responsibility for placement planning and replacement if
    the placement fails.
        (3) Notification to the Department of any significant
    child placing agency changes after approval.
        (4) Any other information the Department may require.
    The rules shall also provide that any agency that places
children for adoption in this State may not, in any policy or
practice relating to the placement of children for adoption,
discriminate against any child or prospective adoptive parent
on the basis of race.
    (a-5) (Blank).
    (b) Interstate adoptions.
        (1) All interstate adoption placements under this Act
    shall comply with the Child Care Act of 1969 and the
    Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children. The
    placement of children with relatives by the Department of
    Children and Family Services shall also comply with
    subsection (b) of Section 7 of the Children and Family
    Services Act. The Department may promulgate rules to
    implement interstate adoption placements, including those
    requirements set forth in this Section.
        (2) If an adoption is finalized prior to bringing or
    sending a child to this State, compliance with the
    Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children is not
    required.
        (3) Approval requirements. The Department shall
    promulgate procedures for interstate adoption placements
    of children under this Act. No later than 30 days after the
    effective date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General
    Assembly, the Department shall distribute a written list of
    all pre-adoption approval requirements to all Illinois
    licensed child welfare agencies performing adoption
    services, and all out-of-state agencies approved under
    this Section, and shall post the requirements on the
    Department's website. The Department may not require any
    further pre-adoption requirements other than those set
    forth in the procedures required under this paragraph. The
    procedures shall reflect the standard of review as stated
    in the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children and
    approval shall be given by the Department if the placement
    appears not to be contrary to the best interests of the
    child.
        (4) Time for review and decision. In all cases where
    the child to be placed is not a youth in care in Illinois
    or any other state, a provisional or final approval for
    placement shall be provided in writing from the Department
    in accordance with the Interstate Compact on the Placement
    of Children. Approval or denial of the placement must be
    given by the Department as soon as practicable, but in no
    event more than 3 business days of the receipt of the
    completed referral packet by the Department's Interstate
    Compact Administrator. Receipt of the packet shall be
    evidenced by the packet's arrival at the address designated
    by the Department to receive such referrals. The written
    decision to approve or deny the placement shall be
    communicated in an expeditious manner, including, but not
    limited to, electronic means referenced in paragraph
    (b)(7) of this Section, and shall be provided to all
    Illinois licensed child welfare agencies involved in the
    placement, all out-of-state child placing agencies
    involved in the placement, and all attorneys representing
    the prospective adoptive parent or biological parent. If,
    during its initial review of the packet, the Department
    believes there are any incomplete or missing documents, or
    missing information, as required in paragraph (b)(3), the
    Department shall, as soon as practicable, but in no event
    more than 2 business days of receipt of the packet,
    communicate a list of any incomplete or missing documents
    and information to all Illinois licensed child welfare
    agencies involved in the placement, all out-of-state child
    placing agencies involved in the placement, and all
    attorneys representing the adoptive parent or biological
    parent. This list shall be communicated in an expeditious
    manner, including, but not limited to, electronic means
    referenced in paragraph (b)(7) of this Section.
        (5) Denial of approval. In all cases where the child to
    be placed is not a youth in the care of any state, if the
    Department denies approval of an interstate placement, the
    written decision referenced in paragraph (b)(4) of this
    Section shall set forth the reason or reasons why the
    placement was not approved and shall reference which
    requirements under paragraph (b)(3) of this Section were
    not met. The written decision shall be communicated in an
    expeditious manner, including, but not limited to,
    electronic means referenced in paragraph (b)(7) of this
    Section, to all Illinois licensed child welfare agencies
    involved in the placement, all out-of-state child placing
    agencies involved in the placement, and all attorneys
    representing the prospective adoptive parent or biological
    parent.
        (6) Provisional approval. Nothing in paragraphs (b)(3)
    through (b)(5) of this Section shall preclude the
    Department from issuing provisional approval of the
    placement pending receipt of any missing or incomplete
    documents or information.
        (7) Electronic communication. All communications
    concerning an interstate placement made between the
    Department and an Illinois licensed child welfare agency,
    an out-of-state child placing agency, and attorneys
    representing the prospective adoptive parent or biological
    parent, including the written communications referenced in
    this Section, may be made through any type of electronic
    means, including, but not limited to, electronic mail.
    (c) Intercountry adoptions. The adoption of a child, if the
child is a habitual resident of a country other than the United
States and the petitioner is a habitual resident of the United
States, or, if the child is a habitual resident of the United
States and the petitioner is a habitual resident of a country
other than the United States, shall comply with the
Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, as amended, and the
Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended. In the case of an
intercountry adoption that requires oversight by the adoption
services governed by the Intercountry Adoption Universal
Accreditation Act of 2012, this State shall not impose any
additional preadoption requirements.
    (d) (Blank).
    (e) Re-adoption after an intercountry adoption.
        (1) Any time after a minor child has been adopted in a
    foreign country and has immigrated to the United States,
    the adoptive parent or parents of the child may petition
    the court for a judgment of adoption to re-adopt the child
    and confirm the foreign adoption decree.
        (2) The petitioner must submit to the court one or more
    of the following to verify the foreign adoption:
            (i) an immigrant visa for the child issued by
        United States Citizenship and Immigration Services of
        the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that was valid
        at the time of the child's immigration;
            (ii) a decree, judgment, certificate of adoption,
        adoption registration, or equivalent court order,
        entered or issued by a court of competent jurisdiction
        or administrative body outside the United States,
        establishing the relationship of parent and child by
        adoption; or
            (iii) such other evidence deemed satisfactory by
        the court.
        (3) The child's immigrant visa shall be prima facie
    proof that the adoption was established in accordance with
    the laws of the foreign jurisdiction and met United States
    requirements for immigration.
        (4) If the petitioner submits documentation that
    satisfies the requirements of paragraph (2), the court
    shall not appoint a guardian ad litem for the minor who is
    the subject of the proceeding, shall not require any
    further termination of parental rights of the child's
    biological parents, nor shall it require any home study,
    investigation, post-placement visit, or background check
    of the petitioner.
        (5) The petition may include a request for change of
    the child's name and any other request for specific relief
    that is in the best interests of the child. The relief may
    include a request for a revised birth date for the child if
    supported by evidence from a medical or dental professional
    attesting to the appropriate age of the child or other
    collateral evidence.
        (6) Two adoptive parents who adopted a minor child
    together in a foreign country while married to one another
    may file a petition for adoption to re-adopt the child
    jointly, regardless of whether their marriage has been
    dissolved. If either parent whose marriage was dissolved
    has subsequently remarried or entered into a civil union
    with another person, the new spouse or civil union partner
    shall not join in the petition to re-adopt the child,
    unless the new spouse or civil union partner is seeking to
    adopt the child. If either adoptive parent does not join in
    the petition, he or she must be joined as a party
    defendant. The defendant parent's failure to participate
    in the re-adoption proceeding shall not affect the existing
    parental rights or obligations of the parent as they relate
    to the minor child, and the parent's name shall be placed
    on any subsequent birth record issued for the child as a
    result of the re-adoption proceeding.
        (7) An adoptive parent who adopted a minor child in a
    foreign country as an unmarried person may file a petition
    for adoption to re-adopt the child as a sole petitioner,
    even if the adoptive parent has subsequently married or
    entered into a civil union.
        (8) If one of the adoptive parents who adopted a minor
    child dies prior to a re-adoption proceeding, the deceased
    parent's name shall be placed on any subsequent birth
    record issued for the child as a result of the re-adoption
    proceeding.
(Source: P.A. 98-455, eff. 1-1-14; 99-49, eff. 7-15-15.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.