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Public Act 91-0740
SB1388 Enrolled LRB9109824RCks
AN ACT to amend the Adoption Act by changing Section 6.
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 6 as follows:
(750 ILCS 50/6) (from Ch. 40, par. 1508)
Sec. 6. A. Investigation; all cases. Within 10 days
after the filing of a petition for the adoption or standby
adoption of a child other than a related child, the court
shall appoint a child welfare agency approved by the
Department of Children and Family Services, or a person
deemed competent by the court, or in Cook County the Court
Services Division of the Cook County Department of Public
Aid, or the Department of Children and Family Services if the
court determines that no child welfare agency is available or
that the petitioner is financially unable to pay for the
investigation, to investigate accurately, fully and promptly,
the allegations contained in the petition; the character,
reputation, health and general standing in the community of
the petitioners; the religious faith of the petitioners and,
if ascertainable, of the child sought to be adopted; and
whether the petitioners are proper persons to adopt the child
and whether the child is a proper subject of adoption. The
investigation required under this Section shall include a
criminal background check with a review of fingerprints by
State and federal authorities. The criminal background check
required by this Section shall include a listing of when,
where and by whom the criminal background check was prepared.
The criminal background check required by this Section shall
not be more than two years old.
Neither a clerk of the circuit court nor a judge may
require that a criminal background check or fingerprint
review be filed with, or at the same time as, an initial
petition for adoption.
B. Investigation; foreign-born child. In the case of a
child born outside the United States or a territory thereof,
in addition to the investigation required under subsection
(A) of this Section, a post-placement investigation shall be
conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Child
Care Act of 1969, the Interstate Compact on the Placement of
Children, and regulations of the foreign placing agency and
the supervising agency.
The requirements of a post-placement investigation shall
be deemed to have been satisfied if a valid final order or
judgment of adoption has been entered by a court of competent
jurisdiction in a country other than the United States or a
territory thereof with respect to such child and the
petitioners.
C. Report of investigation. The court shall determine
whether the costs of the investigation shall be charged to
the petitioners. The information obtained as a result of such
investigation shall be presented to the court in a written
report. The results of the criminal background check required
under subsection (A) shall be provided to the court for its
review. The court may, in its discretion, weigh the
significance of the results of the criminal background check
against the entirety of the background of the petitioners.
The Court, in its discretion, may accept the report of the
investigation previously made by a licensed child welfare
agency, if made within one year prior to the entry of the
judgment. Such report shall be treated as confidential and
withheld from inspection unless findings adverse to the
petitioners or to the child sought to be adopted are
contained therein, and in that event the court shall inform
the petitioners of the relevant portions pertaining to the
adverse findings. In no event shall any facts set forth in
the report be considered at the hearing of the proceeding,
unless established by competent evidence. The report shall be
filed with the record of the proceeding. If the file
relating to the proceeding is not impounded, the report shall
be impounded by the clerk of the court and shall be made
available for inspection only upon order of the court.
D. Related adoption. Such investigation shall not be
made when the petition seeks to adopt a related child or an
adult unless the court, in its discretion, shall so order. In
such an event the court may appoint a person deemed competent
by the court.
(Source: P.A. 91-429, eff. 1-1-00; 91-572, eff. 1-1-00;
revised 10-19-99.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
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