102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB1910

 

Introduced 2/17/2021, by Rep. Deanne M. Mazzochi

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
325 ILCS 5/3  from Ch. 23, par. 2053
410 ILCS 50/3.5 new

    Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Provides that a child shall not be considered neglected solely because the child's parent or other person responsible for his or her welfare has a difference of opinion with a medical professional regarding the safety, efficacy, or advisability of various treatment protocols specific to that child. Provides that a child shall not be considered neglected solely because a child's parent or other person responsible for the child's welfare objects to: (i) a recommended vaccination schedule or the dosing schedule for vaccines; (ii) the administration of ophthalmic antibiotics or silver nitrate in newborns; (iii) the administration of, timing of, or route of administration for vitamin K in newborns; or other specified medical care. Provides that requests for minimally invasive diagnostic tests for the child and a diagnosis of or treatment of pediatric acute onset neuropsychiatric syndrome or pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections shall not be considered an indication of neglect. Provides that if a medical professional complies with an objection or request set forth in the amendatory Act by a child's parent or other person responsible for the child's welfare, no liability for any such decision may attach to the medical professional. Amends the Medical Patient Rights Act. Provides that a child's parent or other person responsible for the child's welfare has a right to be free from threats by medical professionals to refer a child to protective services, unless the medical professional has a good faith basis to believe that the child otherwise meets the definition of an abused child or a neglected child as defined under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Requires the Department of Public Health to adopt rules.


LRB102 14206 KTG 19558 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB1910LRB102 14206 KTG 19558 b

1    AN ACT concerning children.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is
5amended by changing Section 3 as follows:
 
6    (325 ILCS 5/3)  (from Ch. 23, par. 2053)
7    Sec. 3. As used in this Act unless the context otherwise
8requires:
9    "Adult resident" means any person between 18 and 22 years
10of age who resides in any facility licensed by the Department
11under the Child Care Act of 1969. For purposes of this Act, the
12criteria set forth in the definitions of "abused child" and
13"neglected child" shall be used in determining whether an
14adult resident is abused or neglected.
15    "Agency" means a child care facility licensed under
16Section 2.05 or Section 2.06 of the Child Care Act of 1969 and
17includes a transitional living program that accepts children
18and adult residents for placement who are in the guardianship
19of the Department.
20    "Blatant disregard" means an incident where the real,
21significant, and imminent risk of harm would be so obvious to a
22reasonable parent or caretaker that it is unlikely that a
23reasonable parent or caretaker would have exposed the child to

 

 

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1the danger without exercising precautionary measures to
2protect the child from harm. With respect to a person working
3at an agency in his or her professional capacity with a child
4or adult resident, "blatant disregard" includes a failure by
5the person to perform job responsibilities intended to protect
6the child's or adult resident's health, physical well-being,
7or welfare, and, when viewed in light of the surrounding
8circumstances, evidence exists that would cause a reasonable
9person to believe that the child was neglected. With respect
10to an agency, "blatant disregard" includes a failure to
11implement practices that ensure the health, physical
12well-being, or welfare of the children and adult residents
13residing in the facility.
14    "Child" means any person under the age of 18 years, unless
15legally emancipated by reason of marriage or entry into a
16branch of the United States armed services.
17    "Department" means Department of Children and Family
18Services.
19    "Local law enforcement agency" means the police of a city,
20town, village or other incorporated area or the sheriff of an
21unincorporated area or any sworn officer of the Illinois
22Department of State Police.
23    "Abused child" means a child whose parent or immediate
24family member, or any person responsible for the child's
25welfare, or any individual residing in the same home as the
26child, or a paramour of the child's parent:

 

 

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1        (a) inflicts, causes to be inflicted, or allows to be
2    inflicted upon such child physical injury, by other than
3    accidental means, which causes death, disfigurement,
4    impairment of physical or emotional health, or loss or
5    impairment of any bodily function;
6        (b) creates a substantial risk of physical injury to
7    such child by other than accidental means which would be
8    likely to cause death, disfigurement, impairment of
9    physical or emotional health, or loss or impairment of any
10    bodily function;
11        (c) commits or allows to be committed any sex offense
12    against such child, as such sex offenses are defined in
13    the Criminal Code of 2012 or in the Wrongs to Children Act,
14    and extending those definitions of sex offenses to include
15    children under 18 years of age;
16        (d) commits or allows to be committed an act or acts of
17    torture upon such child;
18        (e) inflicts excessive corporal punishment or, in the
19    case of a person working for an agency who is prohibited
20    from using corporal punishment, inflicts corporal
21    punishment upon a child or adult resident with whom the
22    person is working in his or her professional capacity;
23        (f) commits or allows to be committed the offense of
24    female genital mutilation, as defined in Section 12-34 of
25    the Criminal Code of 2012, against the child;
26        (g) causes to be sold, transferred, distributed, or

 

 

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1    given to such child under 18 years of age, a controlled
2    substance as defined in Section 102 of the Illinois
3    Controlled Substances Act in violation of Article IV of
4    the Illinois Controlled Substances Act or in violation of
5    the Methamphetamine Control and Community Protection Act,
6    except for controlled substances that are prescribed in
7    accordance with Article III of the Illinois Controlled
8    Substances Act and are dispensed to such child in a manner
9    that substantially complies with the prescription; or
10        (h) commits or allows to be committed the offense of
11    involuntary servitude, involuntary sexual servitude of a
12    minor, or trafficking in persons as defined in Section
13    10-9 of the Criminal Code of 2012 against the child.
14    A child shall not be considered abused for the sole reason
15that the child has been relinquished in accordance with the
16Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act.
17    "Neglected child" means any child who is not receiving the
18proper or necessary nourishment or medically indicated
19treatment including food or care not provided solely on the
20basis of the present or anticipated mental or physical
21impairment as determined by a physician acting alone or in
22consultation with other physicians or otherwise is not
23receiving the proper or necessary support or medical or other
24remedial care recognized under State law as necessary for a
25child's well-being, or other care necessary for his or her
26well-being, including adequate food, clothing and shelter; or

 

 

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1who is subjected to an environment which is injurious insofar
2as (i) the child's environment creates a likelihood of harm to
3the child's health, physical well-being, or welfare and (ii)
4the likely harm to the child is the result of a blatant
5disregard of parent, caretaker, or agency responsibilities; or
6who is abandoned by his or her parents or other person
7responsible for the child's welfare without a proper plan of
8care; or who has been provided with interim crisis
9intervention services under Section 3-5 of the Juvenile Court
10Act of 1987 and whose parent, guardian, or custodian refuses
11to permit the child to return home and no other living
12arrangement agreeable to the parent, guardian, or custodian
13can be made, and the parent, guardian, or custodian has not
14made any other appropriate living arrangement for the child;
15or who is a newborn infant whose blood, urine, or meconium
16contains any amount of a controlled substance as defined in
17subsection (f) of Section 102 of the Illinois Controlled
18Substances Act or a metabolite thereof, with the exception of
19a controlled substance or metabolite thereof whose presence in
20the newborn infant is the result of medical treatment
21administered to the mother or the newborn infant. A child
22shall not be considered neglected for the sole reason that the
23child's parent or other person responsible for his or her
24welfare has left the child in the care of an adult relative for
25any period of time. A child shall not be considered neglected
26for the sole reason that the child has been relinquished in

 

 

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1accordance with the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act. A
2child shall not be considered neglected or abused for the sole
3reason that such child's parent or other person responsible
4for his or her welfare depends upon spiritual means through
5prayer alone for the treatment or cure of disease or remedial
6care as provided under Section 4 of this Act. A child shall not
7be considered neglected or abused solely because the child is
8not attending school in accordance with the requirements of
9Article 26 of The School Code, as amended.
10    A child shall not be considered neglected solely because
11the child's parent or other person responsible for his or her
12welfare has a difference of opinion with a medical
13professional regarding the safety, efficacy, or advisability
14of various treatment protocols specific to that child. A child
15shall not be considered neglected solely because a child's
16parent or other person responsible for the child's welfare:
17        (a) objects to:
18            (i) a recommended vaccination schedule, including,
19        but not limited to, administering to the child: (1)
20        the HPV vaccine; or (2) an influenza vaccine; or (3) a
21        vaccine for COVID-19; or
22            (ii) the dosing schedule for vaccines, including,
23        but not limited to, objecting to administering
24        multiple vaccines in a single day;
25        (b) objects to the administration of opioid
26    medications for pain relief if other non-opioid

 

 

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1    medications are available;
2        (c) objects to the administration of ophthalmic
3    antibiotics or silver nitrate in newborns, and the medical
4    professional does not have a basis to believe the mother
5    has been infected with gonorrhea or chlamydia;
6        (d) objects to the administration of, timing of, or
7    route of administration for vitamin K in newborns;
8        (e) objects to the administration, in non-emergency
9    situations, of a medication without review of an
10    FDA-approved package insert or instructions for use;
11        (f) objects to separation of the child and parent or
12    other person responsible for his or her welfare by the
13    medical professional during non-emergency medical
14    consultations;
15        (g) requests minimally invasive diagnostic tests for
16    the child; or
17        (h) seeks diagnosis of or treatment of symptoms
18    associated with pediatric acute onset neuropsychiatric
19    syndrome or pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric
20    disorders associated with streptococcal infections.
21    If a medical professional complies with an objection or
22request set forth in items (a) through (h) by a child's parent
23or other person responsible for the child's welfare, no
24liability for any such decision may attach to the medical
25professional.
26    "Child Protective Service Unit" means certain specialized

 

 

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1State employees of the Department assigned by the Director to
2perform the duties and responsibilities as provided under
3Section 7.2 of this Act.
4    "Near fatality" means an act that, as certified by a
5physician, places the child in serious or critical condition,
6including acts of great bodily harm inflicted upon children
7under 13 years of age, and as otherwise defined by Department
8rule.
9    "Great bodily harm" includes bodily injury which creates a
10high probability of death, or which causes serious permanent
11disfigurement, or which causes a permanent or protracted loss
12or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ, or
13other serious bodily harm.
14    "Person responsible for the child's welfare" means the
15child's parent; guardian; foster parent; relative caregiver;
16any person responsible for the child's welfare in a public or
17private residential agency or institution; any person
18responsible for the child's welfare within a public or private
19profit or not for profit child care facility; or any other
20person responsible for the child's welfare at the time of the
21alleged abuse or neglect, including any person that is the
22custodian of a child under 18 years of age who commits or
23allows to be committed, against the child, the offense of
24involuntary servitude, involuntary sexual servitude of a
25minor, or trafficking in persons for forced labor or services,
26as provided in Section 10-9 of the Criminal Code of 2012, or

 

 

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1any person who came to know the child through an official
2capacity or position of trust, including but not limited to
3health care professionals, educational personnel, recreational
4supervisors, members of the clergy, and volunteers or support
5personnel in any setting where children may be subject to
6abuse or neglect.
7    "Temporary protective custody" means custody within a
8hospital or other medical facility or a place previously
9designated for such custody by the Department, subject to
10review by the Court, including a licensed foster home, group
11home, or other institution; but such place shall not be a jail
12or other place for the detention of criminal or juvenile
13offenders.
14    "An unfounded report" means any report made under this Act
15for which it is determined after an investigation that no
16credible evidence of abuse or neglect exists.
17    "An indicated report" means a report made under this Act
18if an investigation determines that credible evidence of the
19alleged abuse or neglect exists.
20    "An undetermined report" means any report made under this
21Act in which it was not possible to initiate or complete an
22investigation on the basis of information provided to the
23Department.
24    "Subject of report" means any child reported to the
25central register of child abuse and neglect established under
26Section 7.7 of this Act as an alleged victim of child abuse or

 

 

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1neglect and the parent or guardian of the alleged victim or
2other person responsible for the alleged victim's welfare who
3is named in the report or added to the report as an alleged
4perpetrator of child abuse or neglect.
5    "Perpetrator" means a person who, as a result of
6investigation, has been determined by the Department to have
7caused child abuse or neglect.
8    "Member of the clergy" means a clergyman or practitioner
9of any religious denomination accredited by the religious body
10to which he or she belongs.
11(Source: P.A. 99-350, eff. 6-1-16; 100-733, eff. 1-1-19.)
 
12    Section 10. The Medical Patient Rights Act is amended by
13adding Section 3.5 as follows:
 
14    (410 ILCS 50/3.5 new)
15    Sec. 3.5. Parental rights.
16    (a) In addition to any other right provided under this
17Act, a child's parent or other person responsible for the
18child's welfare has a right to be free from threats by medical
19professionals to refer a child to protective services, unless
20the medical professional has a good faith basis to believe
21that the child otherwise meets the definition of an abused
22child or a neglected child as defined in Section 3 of the
23Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
24    (b) The Department of Public Health shall adopt rules to

 

 

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1implement this Section.