103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB4758

 

Introduced 2/6/2024, by Rep. Terra Costa Howard

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
20 ILCS 505/2.2

    Amends the Children and Family Services Act. In provisions requiring the Department of Children and Family Services to submit annual reports to the General Assembly regarding youth in care waiting for placement or psychiatric hospitalization, expands the information required in the reports to include the number of youth in care who remained overnight in temporary living spaces not authorized under the Child Care Act of 1969 solely because the Department cannot locate an appropriate placement for the youth. Provides that temporary living spaces not authorized under the Child Care Act of 1969 include, but are not limited to, Department or private agency offices or welcome centers. Defines "remaining overnight" to mean being present in the temporary living space at 1:00 a.m. Provides that at a minimum, the report shall include the following information regarding each youth: age, region, date of stay, length of time the youth was in the temporary living space, date and time the youth was moved from the temporary living space, the reason for the youth remaining overnight, and the type of placement or setting the youth was in immediately after leaving the temporary living space. Requires the report to reflect the number of unique youth involved, the number of episodes that occurred fitting the criteria, and the number of unique youth involved in multiple episodes. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB4758LRB103 39252 KTG 69404 b

1    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
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 2.2 as follows:
 
6    (20 ILCS 505/2.2)
7    Sec. 2.2. Annual reports on youth in care waiting for
8placement. No later than December 31, 2018, and on December 31
9of each year thereafter, the Department shall prepare and
10submit an annual report, covering the previous fiscal year, to
11the General Assembly regarding youth in care waiting for
12placements or psychiatric hospitalization. The report shall
13also be posted on the Department's website. The report shall
14include:
15        (1) the number of youth in care who remained in
16    emergency placements, including but not limited to
17    shelters and emergency foster homes, for longer than 30
18    days, their genders and ages, their recommended placement
19    type, the total length of time each youth remained in
20    emergency care, the barriers to timely placement, and
21    whether they were placed in the recommended placement type
22    after they were removed from the emergency placement, and
23    if not, what type of placement they were placed in;

 

 

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1        (2) the number of youth in care who remained in
2    psychiatric hospitals beyond the time they were clinically
3    ready for discharge or beyond medical necessity, whichever
4    is sooner, their genders and ages, their recommended
5    placement type, the total length of time each youth
6    remained psychiatrically hospitalized beyond necessity,
7    the barriers to timely placement, and whether they were
8    placed in the recommended placement type after they were
9    removed from the psychiatric hospital, and if not, what
10    type of placement they were placed in;
11        (3) the number of youth in care who remained in a
12    detention center or Department of Juvenile Justice
13    facility solely because the Department cannot locate an
14    appropriate placement for the youth, their genders and
15    ages, their recommended placement type, the total length
16    of time each youth remained in the detention center or
17    Department of Juvenile Justice facility after they could
18    have been released, the barriers to timely placement, and
19    whether they were placed in the recommended placement type
20    after being released from detention of the Juvenile
21    Justice facility, and if not, what type of placement they
22    were placed in;
23        (3.1) the number of youth in care placed in
24    out-of-state residential treatment facilities, whether
25    each youth was referred to any in-state programs for
26    placement and, if so, the number of in-state referrals for

 

 

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1    each youth prior to referring the youth to out-of-state
2    programs; whether the youth was psychiatrically
3    hospitalized beyond medical necessity prior to being sent
4    out of state; the state each youth is placed in; and
5    whether the youth is placed in a secure facility out of
6    state;
7        (3.2) the number of youth not in the temporary custody
8    or guardianship of the Department who are or were the
9    subjects of child protection investigations coded as 84b
10    (lock-out, psychiatrically hospitalized) under the
11    Department's Neglect Allegation Classification system,
12    including youth for whom the Department is required to
13    make payments in accordance with Section 5-5.07 of the
14    Illinois Public Aid Code because they were hospitalized in
15    inpatient psychiatric hospitals or units and were beyond
16    medical necessity during the Department's involvement with
17    the case. At a minimum, the report shall include the
18    following information regarding each youth: age, region,
19    date of hospitalization, date the youth was beyond medical
20    necessity, date and reason for the Department's
21    involvement, length of time the youth was beyond medical
22    necessity, whether the youth was referred for services
23    under the Department of Healthcare and Family Services'
24    Family Support Program, whether the youth was referred for
25    intact family services, whether and when the Department
26    petitioned for custody of the youth, and the youth's

 

 

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1    living arrangement upon being discharged from the
2    hospital;
3        (3.3) the number of youth in care who remain in
4    emergency rooms for longer than 24 hours waiting for
5    admission to a psychiatric hospital bed. At a minimum, the
6    report shall include the following information regarding
7    each youth: age, region, date of admission to the
8    emergency room, length of time the youth was in the
9    emergency room, date and time the youth was discharged
10    from the emergency room, hospital or placement the youth
11    was discharged to, and a description of any critical
12    incidents that occurred during the hospitalization,
13    including, but not limited to, the use of emergency
14    psychotropic medication or the use of any type of
15    restraint; .
16        (3.4) the number of youth in care who remained
17    overnight in temporary living spaces not authorized under
18    the Child Care Act of 1969 solely because the Department
19    cannot locate an appropriate placement for the youth.
20    Temporary living spaces not authorized under the Child
21    Care Act of 1969 include, but are not limited to,
22    Department or private agency offices or welcome centers.
23    As used in this paragraph, "remaining overnight" means
24    being present in the temporary living space at 1:00 a.m.
25    At a minimum, the report shall include the following
26    information regarding each youth: age, region, date of

 

 

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1    stay, length of time the youth was in the temporary living
2    space, date and time the youth was moved from the
3    temporary living space, the reason for the youth remaining
4    overnight, and the type of placement or setting the youth
5    was in immediately after leaving the temporary living
6    space. The report shall reflect the number of unique youth
7    involved, the number of episodes that occurred fitting the
8    criteria, and the number of unique youth involved in
9    multiple episodes;
10        (4) a description of how the Department collected the
11    information reported and any difficulties the Department
12    had in collecting the information and whether there are
13    concerns about the validity of the information; and
14        (5) a description of any steps the Department is
15    taking to reduce the length of time youth in care wait in
16    psychiatric hospitals, emergency placements, detention
17    centers, and Department of Juvenile Justice facilities for
18    clinically appropriate placements.
19(Source: P.A. 102-76, eff. 7-9-21.)
 
20    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
21becoming law.