97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB0186

 

Introduced 1/18/2011, by Rep. Jim Durkin

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
705 ILCS 405/1-5  from Ch. 37, par. 801-5

    Amends the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. Provides that a person not appointed guardian or legal custodian or otherwise made a party to a proceeding under the Act, any current or previously appointed foster parent or relative caregiver, or representative of an agency or association interested in the minor has the right to a full evidentiary hearing. Provides that if after an adjudication that a minor is abused or neglected and a notice of a proposed change of placement of the minor is given, a foster parent may file a motion to intervene in the proceeding for the sole purpose of requesting that the placement of the minor be continued with the foster parent. Provides that if placement of a minor has or is being terminated from a foster parent's home when the foster parent had the minor in his or her home for more than 6 months (rather than one year), that foster parent shall have standing and full intervenor status, except where the Department of Children and Family Services or anyone else authorized under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act has removed the minor from the foster parent because of a documented reasonable belief that the circumstances or conditions of the minor are such that continuing in the residence or care of the foster parent will jeopardize the child's health or safety or presents an imminent risk of harm to the minor's life. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

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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 Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by
5changing Section 1-5 as follows:
 
6    (705 ILCS 405/1-5)  (from Ch. 37, par. 801-5)
7    Sec. 1-5. Rights of parties to proceedings.
8    (1) Except as provided in this Section and paragraph (2) of
9Sections 2-22, 3-23, 4-20, 5-610 or 5-705, the minor who is the
10subject of the proceeding and his parents, guardian, legal
11custodian or responsible relative who are parties respondent
12have the right to be present, to be heard, to present evidence
13material to the proceedings, to cross-examine witnesses, to
14examine pertinent court files and records and also, although
15proceedings under this Act are not intended to be adversary in
16character, the right to be represented by counsel. At the
17request of any party financially unable to employ counsel, with
18the exception of a foster parent permitted to intervene under
19this Section, the court shall appoint the Public Defender or
20such other counsel as the case may require. Counsel appointed
21for the minor and any indigent party shall appear at all stages
22of the trial court proceeding, and such appointment shall
23continue through the permanency hearings and termination of

 

 

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1parental rights proceedings subject to withdrawal or
2substitution pursuant to Supreme Court Rules or the Code of
3Civil Procedure. Following the dispositional hearing, the
4court may require appointed counsel, other than counsel for the
5minor or counsel for the guardian ad litem, to withdraw his or
6her appearance upon failure of the party for whom counsel was
7appointed under this Section to attend any subsequent
8proceedings.
9    No hearing on any petition or motion filed under this Act
10may be commenced unless the minor who is the subject of the
11proceeding is represented by counsel. Notwithstanding the
12preceding sentence, if a guardian ad litem has been appointed
13for the minor under Section 2-17 of this Act and the guardian
14ad litem is a licensed attorney at law of this State, or in the
15event that a court appointed special advocate has been
16appointed as guardian ad litem and counsel has been appointed
17to represent the court appointed special advocate, the court
18may not require the appointment of counsel to represent the
19minor unless the court finds that the minor's interests are in
20conflict with what the guardian ad litem determines to be in
21the best interest of the minor. Each adult respondent shall be
22furnished a written "Notice of Rights" at or before the first
23hearing at which he or she appears.
24    (1.5) The Department shall maintain a system of response to
25inquiry made by parents or putative parents as to whether their
26child is under the custody or guardianship of the Department;

 

 

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1and if so, the Department shall direct the parents or putative
2parents to the appropriate court of jurisdiction, including
3where inquiry may be made of the clerk of the court regarding
4the case number and the next scheduled court date of the
5minor's case. Effective notice and the means of accessing
6information shall be given to the public on a continuing basis
7by the Department.
8    (2) (a) Though not appointed guardian or legal custodian or
9otherwise made a party to the proceeding, any current or
10previously appointed foster parent or relative caregiver, or
11representative of an agency or association interested in the
12minor has the right to be heard by the court, including the
13right to a full evidentiary hearing, but does not thereby
14become a party to the proceeding.
15    In addition to the foregoing right to be heard by the
16court, any current foster parent or relative caregiver of a
17minor and the agency designated by the court or the Department
18of Children and Family Services as custodian of the minor who
19is alleged to be or has been adjudicated an abused or neglected
20minor under Section 2-3 or a dependent minor under Section 2-4
21of this Act has the right to and shall be given adequate notice
22at all stages of any hearing or proceeding under this Act.
23    Any foster parent or relative caregiver who is denied his
24or her right to be heard under this Section may bring a
25mandamus action under Article XIV of the Code of Civil
26Procedure against the court or any public agency to enforce

 

 

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1that right. The mandamus action may be brought immediately upon
2the denial of those rights but in no event later than 30 days
3after the foster parent has been denied the right to be heard.
4    (b) If after an adjudication that a minor is abused or
5neglected as provided under Section 2-21 of this Act and a
6motion has been made to restore the minor to any parent,
7guardian, or legal custodian found by the court to have caused
8the neglect or to have inflicted the abuse on the minor or a
9notice of a proposed change of placement of the minor is given,
10a foster parent may file a motion to intervene in the
11proceeding for the sole purpose of requesting that the
12placement of the minor be continued placed with the foster
13parent, provided that the foster parent (i) is the current
14foster parent of the minor or (ii) has previously been a foster
15parent for the minor for 6 months one year or more, has a
16foster care license or is eligible for a license, and is not
17the subject of any findings of abuse or neglect of any child.
18The juvenile court may only enter orders placing a minor with a
19specific foster parent under this subsection (2)(b) and nothing
20in this Section shall be construed to confer any jurisdiction
21or authority on the juvenile court to issue any other orders
22requiring the appointed guardian or custodian of a minor to
23place the minor in a designated foster home or facility. This
24Section is not intended to encompass any matters that are
25within the scope or determinable under the administrative and
26appeal process established by rules of the Department of

 

 

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1Children and Family Services under Section 5(o) of the Children
2and Family Services Act. Nothing in this Section shall relieve
3the court of its responsibility, under Section 2-14(a) of this
4Act to act in a just and speedy manner to reunify families
5where it is the best interests of the minor and the child can
6be cared for at home without endangering the child's health or
7safety and, if reunification is not in the best interests of
8the minor, to find another permanent home for the minor.
9Nothing in this Section, or in any order issued by the court
10with respect to the placement of a minor with a foster parent,
11shall impair the ability of the Department of Children and
12Family Services, or anyone else authorized under Section 5 of
13the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, to remove a minor
14from the home of a foster parent if the Department of Children
15and Family Services or the person removing the minor has a
16documented reason to believe that the circumstances or
17conditions of the minor are such that continuing in the
18residence or care of the foster parent will jeopardize the
19child's health and safety or present an imminent risk of harm
20to that minor's life.
21    (c) If a foster parent has had the minor who is the subject
22of the proceeding under Article II in his or her home for more
23than 6 months one year on or after July 3, 1994 and if the
24minor's placement is being or has been terminated from that
25foster parent's home, that foster parent shall have standing
26and full intervenor status except in those circumstances where

 

 

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1the Department of Children and Family Services or anyone else
2authorized under Section 5 of the Abused and Neglected Child
3Reporting Act has removed the minor from the foster parent
4because of a documented reasonable belief that the
5circumstances or conditions of the minor are such that
6continuing in the residence or care of the foster parent will
7jeopardize the child's health or safety or presents an imminent
8risk of harm to the minor's life.
9    (d) The court may grant standing to any foster parent if
10the court finds that it is in the best interest of the child
11for the foster parent to have standing and intervenor status.
12    (3) Parties respondent are entitled to notice in compliance
13with Sections 2-15 and 2-16, 3-17 and 3-18, 4-14 and 4-15 or
145-525 and 5-530, as appropriate. At the first appearance before
15the court by the minor, his parents, guardian, custodian or
16responsible relative, the court shall explain the nature of the
17proceedings and inform the parties of their rights under the
18first 2 paragraphs of this Section.
19    If the child is alleged to be abused, neglected or
20dependent, the court shall admonish the parents that if the
21court declares the child to be a ward of the court and awards
22custody or guardianship to the Department of Children and
23Family Services, the parents must cooperate with the Department
24of Children and Family Services, comply with the terms of the
25service plans, and correct the conditions that require the
26child to be in care, or risk termination of their parental

 

 

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1rights.
2    Upon an adjudication of wardship of the court under
3Sections 2-22, 3-23, 4-20 or 5-705, the court shall inform the
4parties of their right to appeal therefrom as well as from any
5other final judgment of the court.
6    When the court finds that a child is an abused, neglected,
7or dependent minor under Section 2-21, the court shall admonish
8the parents that the parents must cooperate with the Department
9of Children and Family Services, comply with the terms of the
10service plans, and correct the conditions that require the
11child to be in care, or risk termination of their parental
12rights.
13    When the court declares a child to be a ward of the court
14and awards guardianship to the Department of Children and
15Family Services under Section 2-22, the court shall admonish
16the parents, guardian, custodian, or responsible relative that
17the parents must cooperate with the Department of Children and
18Family Services, comply with the terms of the service plans,
19and correct the conditions that require the child to be in
20care, or risk termination of their parental rights.
21    (4) No sanction may be applied against the minor who is the
22subject of the proceedings by reason of his refusal or failure
23to testify in the course of any hearing held prior to final
24adjudication under Section 2-22, 3-23, 4-20 or 5-705.
25    (5) In the discretion of the court, the minor may be
26excluded from any part or parts of a dispositional hearing and,

 

 

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1with the consent of the parent or parents, guardian, counsel or
2a guardian ad litem, from any part or parts of an adjudicatory
3hearing.
4    (6) The general public except for the news media and the
5crime victim, as defined in Section 3 of the Rights of Crime
6Victims and Witnesses Act, shall be excluded from any hearing
7and, except for the persons specified in this Section only
8persons, including representatives of agencies and
9associations, who in the opinion of the court have a direct
10interest in the case or in the work of the court shall be
11admitted to the hearing. However, the court may, for the
12minor's safety and protection and for good cause shown,
13prohibit any person or agency present in court from further
14disclosing the minor's identity. Nothing in this subsection (6)
15prevents the court from allowing other juveniles to be present
16or to participate in a court session being held under the
17Juvenile Drug Court Treatment Act.
18    (7) A party shall not be entitled to exercise the right to
19a substitution of a judge without cause under subdivision
20(a)(2) of Section 2-1001 of the Code of Civil Procedure in a
21proceeding under this Act if the judge is currently assigned to
22a proceeding involving the alleged abuse, neglect, or
23dependency of the minor's sibling or half sibling and that
24judge has made a substantive ruling in the proceeding involving
25the minor's sibling or half sibling.
26(Source: P.A. 93-539, eff. 8-18-03; 94-271, eff. 1-1-06.)
 

 

 

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1    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
2becoming law.