SB0755 EngrossedLRB102 04572 LNS 14591 b

1    AN ACT concerning courts.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Children and Family Services Act is amended
5by changing Section 5e and by adding Section 6b-1 as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 505/5e)
7    Sec. 5e. Advocacy Office for Children and Families.
8    (a) The Department of Children and Family Services shall
9establish and maintain an Advocacy Office for Children and
10Families that shall, in addition to other duties assigned by
11the Director, receive and respond to complaints that may be
12filed by children, parents, caretakers, and relatives of
13children receiving child welfare services from the Department
14of Children and Family Services or its agents. The Department
15shall promulgate policies and procedures for filing,
16processing, investigating, and resolving the complaints. The
17Department shall make a final report to the complainant of its
18findings. If a final report is not completed, the Department
19shall report on its disposition every 30 days.
20    (b) If a youth in care, current foster parent or
21caregiver, or caseworker requests the information, the
22Advocacy Office shall make available the name, electronic mail
23address, and telephone number for each youth's court-appointed

 

 

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1guardian ad litem and, if applicable, the guardian ad litem's
2supervisor.
3    (c) The Advocacy Office shall include a statewide
4toll-free telephone number and an electronic mail address that
5may be used to file complaints, or to obtain information about
6the delivery of child welfare services by the Department or
7its agents, and to obtain the contact information for the
8guardian ad litem. This telephone number and electronic mail
9address shall be included in all appropriate notices and
10handbooks regarding services available through the Department.
11    (d) The Department shall provide a flyer to all youth
12entering care describing the responsibilities of the Advocacy
13Office listed in this Section, the toll-free telephone number
14and electronic mailing address for the Advocacy Office, and a
15description of the role of a guardian ad litem. The Department
16shall also provide this flyer to youth at every administrative
17case review.
18(Source: P.A. 92-334, eff. 8-10-01; 92-651, eff. 7-11-02.)
 
19    (20 ILCS 505/6b-1 new)
20    Sec. 6b-1. Maintaining and tracking information on
21guardians ad litem. The Department must maintain the name,
22electronic mail address, and telephone number for each youth
23in care's court-appointed guardian ad litem and, if
24applicable, the guardian ad litem's supervisor. The Department
25must update this contact information within 5 days of

 

 

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1receiving notice of a change. The Advocacy Office for Children
2and Families, established pursuant to Section 5e, must make
3this contact information available to the youth in care,
4current foster parent or caregiver, or caseworker, if
5requested. By December 31, 2021, the Department shall adopt
6rules for maintaining and providing this information.
 
7    Section 10. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by
8changing Section 2-17 as follows:
 
9    (705 ILCS 405/2-17)  (from Ch. 37, par. 802-17)
10    Sec. 2-17. Guardian ad litem.
11    (1) Immediately upon the filing of a petition alleging
12that the minor is a person described in Sections 2-3 or 2-4 of
13this Article, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for
14the minor if:
15        (a) such petition alleges that the minor is an abused
16    or neglected child; or
17        (b) such petition alleges that charges alleging the
18    commission of any of the sex offenses defined in Article
19    11 or in Sections 11-1.20, 11-1.30, 11-1.40, 11-1.50,
20    11-1.60, 12-13, 12-14, 12-14.1, 12-15 or 12-16 of the
21    Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, have
22    been filed against a defendant in any court and that such
23    minor is the alleged victim of the acts of defendant in the
24    commission of such offense.

 

 

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1    Unless the guardian ad litem appointed pursuant to this
2paragraph (1) is an attorney at law, he or she shall be
3represented in the performance of his or her duties by
4counsel. The guardian ad litem shall represent the best
5interests of the minor and shall present recommendations to
6the court consistent with that duty.
7    (2) Before proceeding with the hearing, the court shall
8appoint a guardian ad litem for the minor if:
9        (a) no parent, guardian, custodian or relative of the
10    minor appears at the first or any subsequent hearing of
11    the case;
12        (b) the petition prays for the appointment of a
13    guardian with power to consent to adoption; or
14        (c) the petition for which the minor is before the
15    court resulted from a report made pursuant to the Abused
16    and Neglected Child Reporting Act.
17    (3) The court may appoint a guardian ad litem for the minor
18whenever it finds that there may be a conflict of interest
19between the minor and his parents or other custodian or that it
20is otherwise in the minor's best interest to do so.
21    (4) Unless the guardian ad litem is an attorney, he or she
22shall be represented by counsel.
23    (4.5) Pursuant to Section 6b-1 of the Children and Family
24Services Act, the Department of Children and Family Services
25must maintain the name, electronic mail address, and telephone
26number for each minor's court-appointed guardian ad litem and,

 

 

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1if applicable, the guardian ad litem's supervisor. The
2Department of Children and Family Services must update this
3contact information within 5 days of receiving notice of a
4change. The Advocacy Office for Children and Families,
5established pursuant to Section 5e of the Children and Family
6Services Act, must make this contact information available to
7the minor, current foster parent or caregiver, or caseworker,
8if requested.
9    (5) The reasonable fees of a guardian ad litem appointed
10under this Section shall be fixed by the court and charged to
11the parents of the minor, to the extent they are able to pay.
12If the parents are unable to pay those fees, they shall be paid
13from the general fund of the county.
14    (6) A guardian ad litem appointed under this Section,
15shall receive copies of any and all classified reports of
16child abuse and neglect made under the Abused and Neglected
17Child Reporting Act in which the minor who is the subject of a
18report under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, is
19also the minor for whom the guardian ad litem is appointed
20under this Section.
21    (6.5) A guardian ad litem appointed under this Section or
22attorney appointed under this Act shall receive a copy of each
23significant event report that involves the minor no later than
243 days after the Department learns of an event requiring a
25significant event report to be written, or earlier as required
26by Department rule.

 

 

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1    (7) The appointed guardian ad litem shall remain the
2minor's child's guardian ad litem throughout the entire
3juvenile trial court proceedings, including permanency
4hearings and termination of parental rights proceedings,
5unless there is a substitution entered by order of the court.
6    (8) The guardian ad litem or an agent of the guardian ad
7litem shall have a minimum of one in-person contact with the
8minor and one contact with one of the current foster parents or
9caregivers prior to the adjudicatory hearing, and at least one
10additional in-person contact with the child and one contact
11with one of the current foster parents or caregivers after the
12adjudicatory hearing but prior to the first permanency hearing
13and one additional in-person contact with the child and one
14contact with one of the current foster parents or caregivers
15each subsequent year. For good cause shown, the judge may
16excuse face-to-face interviews required in this subsection.
17    (9) In counties with a population of 100,000 or more but
18less than 3,000,000, each guardian ad litem must successfully
19complete a training program approved by the Department of
20Children and Family Services. The Department of Children and
21Family Services shall provide training materials and documents
22to guardians ad litem who are not mandated to attend the
23training program. The Department of Children and Family
24Services shall develop and distribute to all guardians ad
25litem a bibliography containing information including but not
26limited to the juvenile court process, termination of parental

 

 

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1rights, child development, medical aspects of child abuse, and
2the child's need for safety and permanence.
3(Source: P.A. 100-689, eff. 1-1-19; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)
 
4    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
5becoming law.