Sen. Julie A. Morrison

Filed: 3/22/2019

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1778

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1778 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is
5amended by changing Sections 4 and 11.5 as follows:
 
6    (325 ILCS 5/4)
7    Sec. 4. Persons required to report; privileged
8communications; transmitting false report.
9    (a) The following persons are required to immediately
10report to the Department when they have reasonable cause to
11believe that a child known to them in their professional or
12official capacities may be an abused child or a neglected
13child:
14        (1) Medical personnel, including any: physician
15    licensed to practice medicine in any of its branches
16    (medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy); resident;

 

 

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1    intern; medical administrator or personnel engaged in the
2    examination, care, and treatment of persons; psychiatrist;
3    surgeon; dentist; dental hygienist; chiropractic
4    physician; podiatric physician; physician assistant;
5    emergency medical technician; acupuncturist; registered
6    nurse; licensed practical nurse; advanced practice
7    registered nurse; genetic counselor; respiratory care
8    practitioner; home health aide; or certified nursing
9    assistant.
10        (2) Social services and mental health personnel,
11    including any: licensed professional counselor; licensed
12    clinical professional counselor; licensed social worker;
13    licensed clinical social worker; licensed psychologist or
14    assistant working under the direct supervision of a
15    psychologist; associate licensed marriage and family
16    therapist; licensed marriage and family therapist; field
17    personnel of the Departments of Healthcare and Family
18    Services, Public Health, Human Services, Human Rights, or
19    Children and Family Services; supervisor or administrator
20    of the General Assistance program established under
21    Article VI of the Illinois Public Aid Code; social services
22    administrator; or substance abuse treatment personnel.
23        (3) Crisis intervention personnel, including any:
24    crisis line or hotline personnel; or domestic violence
25    program personnel.
26        (4) Education personnel, including any: school

 

 

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1    personnel (including administrators and certified and
2    non-certified school employees); personnel of institutions
3    of higher education; educational advocate assigned to a
4    child in accordance with the School Code; member of a
5    school board or the Chicago Board of Education or the
6    governing body of a private school (but only to the extent
7    required in accordance with other provisions of this
8    Section expressly concerning the duty of school board
9    members to report suspected child abuse); or truant
10    officer.
11        (5) Recreation or athletic program or facility
12    personnel.
13        (6) Child care personnel, including any: early
14    intervention provider as defined in the Early Intervention
15    Services System Act; director or staff assistant of a
16    nursery school or a child day care center; or foster
17    parent, homemaker, or child care worker.
18        (7) Law enforcement personnel, including any: law
19    enforcement officer; field personnel of the Department of
20    Juvenile Justice; field personnel of the Department of
21    Corrections; probation officer; or animal control officer
22    or field investigator of the Department of Agriculture's
23    Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare.
24        (8) Any funeral home director; funeral home director
25    and embalmer; funeral home employee; coroner; or medical
26    examiner.

 

 

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1        (9) Any member of the clergy.
2        (10) Any physician, physician assistant, registered
3    nurse, licensed practical nurse, medical technician,
4    certified nursing assistant, licensed social worker,
5    licensed clinical social worker, or licensed professional
6    counselor of any office, clinic, or any other physical
7    location that provides abortions, abortion referrals, or
8    contraceptives.
9    (b) When 2 or more persons who work within the same
10workplace and are required to report under this Act share a
11reasonable cause to believe that a child may be an abused or
12neglected child, a single report may be made by a designated
13reporter. The report shall include the names and contact
14information for the other mandated reporters sharing the
15reasonable cause to believe that a child may be an abused or
16neglected child. The designated reporter must provide written
17confirmation of the report to those mandated reporters within
1848 hours. If confirmation is not provided, those mandated
19reporters are individually responsible for immediately
20ensuring a report is made. Nothing in this Section precludes
21any person from reporting child abuse or child neglect.
22    (c)(1) As used in this Section, "a child known to them in
23their professional or official capacities" means:
24        (A) the mandated reporter comes into contact with the
25    child in the course of the reporter's employment or
26    practice of a profession, or through a regularly scheduled

 

 

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1    program, activity, or service;
2        (B) the mandated reporter is affiliated with an agency,
3    institution, organization, school, school district,
4    regularly established church or religious organization, or
5    other entity that is directly responsible for the care,
6    supervision, guidance, or training of the child; or
7        (C) a person makes a specific disclosure to the
8    mandated reporter that an identifiable child is the victim
9    of child abuse or child neglect, and the disclosure happens
10    while the mandated reporter is engaged in his or her
11    employment or practice of a profession, or in a regularly
12    scheduled program, activity, or service.
13    (2) Nothing in this Section requires a child to come before
14the mandated reporter in order for the reporter to make a
15report of suspected child abuse or child neglect.
16Any physician, resident, intern, hospital, hospital
17administrator and personnel engaged in examination, care and
18treatment of persons, surgeon, dentist, dentist hygienist,
19osteopath, chiropractor, podiatric physician, physician
20assistant, substance abuse treatment personnel, funeral home
21director or employee, coroner, medical examiner, emergency
22medical technician, acupuncturist, crisis line or hotline
23personnel, school personnel (including administrators and both
24certified and non-certified school employees), personnel of
25institutions of higher education, educational advocate
26assigned to a child pursuant to the School Code, member of a

 

 

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1school board or the Chicago Board of Education or the governing
2body of a private school (but only to the extent required in
3accordance with other provisions of this Section expressly
4concerning the duty of school board members to report suspected
5child abuse), truant officers, social worker, social services
6administrator, domestic violence program personnel, registered
7nurse, licensed practical nurse, genetic counselor,
8respiratory care practitioner, advanced practice registered
9nurse, home health aide, director or staff assistant of a
10nursery school or a child day care center, recreational or
11athletic program or facility personnel, early intervention
12provider as defined in the Early Intervention Services System
13Act, law enforcement officer, licensed professional counselor,
14licensed clinical professional counselor, registered
15psychologist and assistants working under the direct
16supervision of a psychologist, psychiatrist, or field
17personnel of the Department of Healthcare and Family Services,
18Juvenile Justice, Public Health, Human Services (acting as
19successor to the Department of Mental Health and Developmental
20Disabilities, Rehabilitation Services, or Public Aid),
21Corrections, Human Rights, or Children and Family Services,
22supervisor and administrator of general assistance under the
23Illinois Public Aid Code, probation officer, animal control
24officer or Illinois Department of Agriculture Bureau of Animal
25Health and Welfare field investigator, or any other foster
26parent, homemaker or child care worker having reasonable cause

 

 

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1to believe a child known to them in their professional or
2official capacity may be an abused child or a neglected child
3shall immediately report or cause a report to be made to the
4Department.
5    Any member of the clergy having reasonable cause to believe
6that a child known to that member of the clergy in his or her
7professional capacity may be an abused child as defined in item
8(c) of the definition of "abused child" in Section 3 of this
9Act shall immediately report or cause a report to be made to
10the Department.
11    Any physician, physician's assistant, registered nurse,
12licensed practical nurse, medical technician, certified
13nursing assistant, social worker, or licensed professional
14counselor of any office, clinic, or any other physical location
15that provides abortions, abortion referrals, or contraceptives
16having reasonable cause to believe a child known to him or her
17in his or her professional or official capacity may be an
18abused child or a neglected child shall immediately report or
19cause a report to be made to the Department.
20    (d) If an allegation is raised to a school board member
21during the course of an open or closed school board meeting
22that a child who is enrolled in the school district of which he
23or she is a board member is an abused child as defined in
24Section 3 of this Act, the member shall direct or cause the
25school board to direct the superintendent of the school
26district or other equivalent school administrator to comply

 

 

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1with the requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of
2child abuse. For purposes of this paragraph, a school board
3member is granted the authority in his or her individual
4capacity to direct the superintendent of the school district or
5other equivalent school administrator to comply with the
6requirements of this Act concerning the reporting of child
7abuse.
8    Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, if an
9employee of a school district has made a report or caused a
10report to be made to the Department under this Act involving
11the conduct of a current or former employee of the school
12district and a request is made by another school district for
13the provision of information concerning the job performance or
14qualifications of the current or former employee because he or
15she is an applicant for employment with the requesting school
16district, the general superintendent of the school district to
17which the request is being made must disclose to the requesting
18school district the fact that an employee of the school
19district has made a report involving the conduct of the
20applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department, as
21required under this Act. Only the fact that an employee of the
22school district has made a report involving the conduct of the
23applicant or caused a report to be made to the Department may
24be disclosed by the general superintendent of the school
25district to which the request for information concerning the
26applicant is made, and this fact may be disclosed only in cases

 

 

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1where the employee and the general superintendent have not been
2informed by the Department that the allegations were unfounded.
3An employee of a school district who is or has been the subject
4of a report made pursuant to this Act during his or her
5employment with the school district must be informed by that
6school district that if he or she applies for employment with
7another school district, the general superintendent of the
8former school district, upon the request of the school district
9to which the employee applies, shall notify that requesting
10school district that the employee is or was the subject of such
11a report.
12    (e) Whenever such person is required to report under this
13Act in his capacity as a member of the staff of a medical or
14other public or private institution, school, facility or
15agency, or as a member of the clergy, he shall make report
16immediately to the Department in accordance with the provisions
17of this Act and may also notify the person in charge of such
18institution, school, facility or agency, or church, synagogue,
19temple, mosque, or other religious institution, or his
20designated agent that such report has been made. Under no
21circumstances shall any person in charge of such institution,
22school, facility or agency, or church, synagogue, temple,
23mosque, or other religious institution, or his designated agent
24to whom such notification has been made, exercise any control,
25restraint, modification or other change in the report or the
26forwarding of such report to the Department.

 

 

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1    (f) In addition to the persons required to report suspected
2cases of child abuse or child neglect under this Section, any
3other person may make a report if such person has reasonable
4cause to believe a child may be an abused child or a neglected
5child.
6    (g) The privileged quality of communication between any
7professional person required to report and his patient or
8client shall not apply to situations involving abused or
9neglected children and shall not constitute grounds for failure
10to report as required by this Act or constitute grounds for
11failure to share information or documents with the Department
12during the course of a child abuse or neglect investigation. If
13requested by the professional, the Department shall confirm in
14writing that the information or documents disclosed by the
15professional were gathered in the course of a child abuse or
16neglect investigation.
17    The reporting requirements of this Act shall not apply to
18the contents of a privileged communication between an attorney
19and his or her client or to confidential information within the
20meaning of Rule 1.6 of the Illinois Rules of Professional
21Conduct relating to the legal representation of an individual
22client.
23    A member of the clergy may claim the privilege under
24Section 8-803 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
25    (h) Any office, clinic, or any other physical location that
26provides abortions, abortion referrals, or contraceptives

 

 

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1shall provide to all office personnel copies of written
2information and training materials about abuse and neglect and
3the requirements of this Act that are provided to employees of
4the office, clinic, or physical location who are required to
5make reports to the Department under this Act, and instruct
6such office personnel to bring to the attention of an employee
7of the office, clinic, or physical location who is required to
8make reports to the Department under this Act any reasonable
9suspicion that a child known to him or her in his or her
10professional or official capacity may be an abused child or a
11neglected child. In addition to the above persons required to
12report suspected cases of abused or neglected children, any
13other person may make a report if such person has reasonable
14cause to believe a child may be an abused child or a neglected
15child.
16    (i) Any person who enters into employment on and after July
171, 1986 and is mandated by virtue of that employment to report
18under this Act, shall sign a statement on a form prescribed by
19the Department, to the effect that the employee has knowledge
20and understanding of the reporting requirements of this Act. On
21and after January 1, 2019, the statement shall also include
22information about available mandated reporter training
23provided by the Department. The statement shall be signed prior
24to commencement of the employment. The signed statement shall
25be retained by the employer. The cost of printing,
26distribution, and filing of the statement shall be borne by the

 

 

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1employer.
2    (j) Persons Within one year of initial employment and at
3least every 5 years thereafter, school personnel required to
4report child abuse or child neglect as provided under this
5Section must complete mandated reporter training within 3
6months of their date of engagement in a professional or
7official capacity as a mandated reporter, and at least every 3
8years thereafter. The initial 3-month requirement only applies
9to the first time they engage in their professional or official
10capacity.
11    The trainings shall be in-person or web-based, and shall
12include, at a minimum, information on the following topics: (i)
13indicators for recognizing child abuse and child neglect, as
14defined under this Act; (ii) the process for reporting
15suspected child abuse and child neglect in Illinois as required
16by this Act and the required documentation; (iii) responding to
17a child in a trauma-informed manner; and (iv) understanding the
18response of child protective services and the role of the
19reporter after a call has been made. Child-serving
20organizations are encouraged to provide in-person annual
21trainings.
22    The mandated reporter training shall be provided through
23the Department, through an entity authorized to provide
24continuing education for professionals licensed through the
25Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the State
26Board of Education, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training

 

 

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1Standards Board, or the Department of State Police, or through
2an organization approved by the Department to provide mandated
3reporter training. The Department must make available a free
4web-based training for reporters.
5    Each mandated reporter shall report to his or her employer
6and, when applicable, to his or her licensing or certification
7board that he or she received the mandated reporter training.
8The mandated reporter shall maintain records of completion.
9    Beginning January 1, 2021, if a mandated reporter receives
10licensure from the Department of Financial and Professional
11Regulation or the State Board of Education, and his or her
12profession has continuing education requirements, the training
13mandated under this Section shall count towards meeting the
14licensee's required continuing education hours.
15by a provider or agency with expertise in recognizing and
16reporting child abuse.
17    (k) The Department shall provide copies of this Act, upon
18request, to all employers employing persons who shall be
19required under the provisions of this Section to report under
20this Act.
21    (l) Any person who knowingly transmits a false report to
22the Department commits the offense of disorderly conduct under
23subsection (a)(7) of Section 26-1 of the Criminal Code of 2012.
24A violation of this provision is a Class 4 felony.
25    Any person who knowingly and willfully violates any
26provision of this Section other than a second or subsequent

 

 

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1violation of transmitting a false report as described in the
2preceding paragraph, is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor for a
3first violation and a Class 4 felony for a second or subsequent
4violation; except that if the person acted as part of a plan or
5scheme having as its object the prevention of discovery of an
6abused or neglected child by lawful authorities for the purpose
7of protecting or insulating any person or entity from arrest or
8prosecution, the person is guilty of a Class 4 felony for a
9first offense and a Class 3 felony for a second or subsequent
10offense (regardless of whether the second or subsequent offense
11involves any of the same facts or persons as the first or other
12prior offense).
13    (m) A child whose parent, guardian or custodian in good
14faith selects and depends upon spiritual means through prayer
15alone for the treatment or cure of disease or remedial care may
16be considered neglected or abused, but not for the sole reason
17that his parent, guardian or custodian accepts and practices
18such beliefs.
19    (n) A child shall not be considered neglected or abused
20solely because the child is not attending school in accordance
21with the requirements of Article 26 of the School Code, as
22amended.
23    (o) Nothing in this Act prohibits a mandated reporter who
24reasonably believes that an animal is being abused or neglected
25in violation of the Humane Care for Animals Act from reporting
26animal abuse or neglect to the Department of Agriculture's

 

 

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1Bureau of Animal Health and Welfare.
2    (p) A home rule unit may not regulate the reporting of
3child abuse or neglect in a manner inconsistent with the
4provisions of this Section. This Section is a limitation under
5subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois
6Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home rule units of
7powers and functions exercised by the State.
8    (q) For purposes of this Section "child abuse or neglect"
9includes abuse or neglect of an adult resident as defined in
10this 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
15amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly, the Department of
16Children and Family Services shall develop
17culturally-sensitive materials on child abuse and child
18neglect, the statewide toll-free telephone number established
19under Section 7.6, and the process for reporting any reasonable
20suspicion of child abuse or child neglect.
21    The Department shall reach out to businesses and
22organizations to seek assistance in raising awareness about
23child abuse and child neglect and the statewide toll-free
24telephone number established under Section 7.6, including
25posting notices. The Department shall make a model notice

 

 

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1available for download on the Department's website. The model
2notice 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
20shall conduct a continuing education and training program for
21State and local staff, persons and officials required to
22report, the general public, and other persons engaged in or
23intending to engage in the prevention, identification, and
24treatment of child abuse and neglect. The program shall be
25designed to encourage the fullest degree of reporting of known
26and suspected child abuse and neglect, and to improve

 

 

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1communication, cooperation, and coordination among all
2agencies in the identification, prevention, and treatment of
3child abuse and neglect. The program shall inform the general
4public and professionals of the nature and extent of child
5abuse and neglect and their responsibilities, obligations,
6powers and immunity from liability under this Act. It may
7include information on the diagnosis of child abuse and neglect
8and the roles and procedures of the Child Protective Service
9Unit, the Department and central register, the courts and of
10the protective, treatment, and ameliorative services available
11to children and their families. Such information may also
12include special needs of mothers at risk of delivering a child
13whose life or development may be threatened by a disabling
14condition, to ensure informed consent to treatment of the
15condition and understanding of the unique child care
16responsibilities required for such a child. The program may
17also encourage parents and other persons having responsibility
18for the welfare of children to seek assistance on their own in
19meeting their child care responsibilities and encourage the
20voluntary acceptance of available services when they are
21needed. It may also include publicity and dissemination of
22information on the existence and number of the 24 hour,
23State-wide, toll-free telephone service to assist persons
24seeking assistance and to receive reports of known and
25suspected abuse and neglect.
26    (c) Within the appropriation available, the Department

 

 

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1also shall conduct a continuing education and training program
2for State and local staff involved in investigating reports of
3child abuse or neglect made under this Act. The program shall
4be designed to train such staff in the necessary and
5appropriate procedures to be followed in investigating cases
6which it appears may result in civil or criminal charges being
7filed against a person. Program subjects shall include but not
8be limited to the gathering of evidence with a view toward
9presenting such evidence in court and the involvement of State
10or local law enforcement agencies in the investigation. The
11program shall be conducted in cooperation with State or local
12law enforcement agencies, State's Attorneys and other
13components of the criminal justice system as the Department
14deems appropriate.
15(Source: P.A. 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)".