Full Text of SB1670 99th General Assembly
SB1670sam001 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY | Sen. Heather A. Steans Filed: 4/21/2015
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| 1 | | AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1670
| 2 | | AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1670 by replacing | 3 | | everything after the enacting clause with the following:
| 4 | | "Section 5. The Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act is | 5 | | amended by changing Sections 10, 20, 35, 50, 60, and 65 as | 6 | | follows: | 7 | | (325 ILCS 2/10)
| 8 | | Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act:
| 9 | | "Abandon" has the same meaning as in the Abused and | 10 | | Neglected
Child Reporting Act.
| 11 | | "Abused child" has the same meaning as in the Abused and | 12 | | Neglected
Child Reporting Act.
| 13 | | "Child-placing agency" means a licensed public or private | 14 | | agency
that receives a child for the purpose of placing or | 15 | | arranging
for the placement of the child in a foster family | 16 | | home or
other facility for child care, apart from the custody |
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| 1 | | of the child's
parents.
| 2 | | "Department" or "DCFS" means the Illinois Department of | 3 | | Children and
Family Services.
| 4 | | "Emergency medical facility" means a freestanding | 5 | | emergency center or
trauma center, as defined in the Emergency | 6 | | Medical Services (EMS) Systems
Act.
| 7 | | "Emergency medical professional" includes licensed | 8 | | physicians, and any
emergency medical technician, emergency | 9 | | medical
technician-intermediate, advanced emergency medical | 10 | | technician, paramedic,
trauma nurse specialist, and | 11 | | pre-hospital registered nurse, as defined in the
Emergency | 12 | | Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act.
| 13 | | "Fire station" means a fire station within the State with | 14 | | at least one staff person.
| 15 | | "Foundling record" means the record required for infants of | 16 | | unknown parentage in Section 13 of the Vital Records Act. | 17 | | "Hospital" has the same meaning as in the Hospital | 18 | | Licensing Act.
| 19 | | "Hospital birth" means any birth that occurs in a hospital | 20 | | or emergency medical facility. | 21 | | "Legal custody" means the relationship created by a court | 22 | | order in
the best interest of a newborn infant that imposes on | 23 | | the infant's custodian
the responsibility of physical | 24 | | possession of the infant, the duty to
protect, train, and | 25 | | discipline the infant, and the duty to provide the infant
with | 26 | | food,
shelter, education, and medical care, except as these are |
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| 1 | | limited by
parental rights and responsibilities.
| 2 | | "Neglected child" has the same meaning as in the Abused and
| 3 | | Neglected Child Reporting Act.
| 4 | | "Newborn infant" means a child who a licensed physician | 5 | | reasonably
believes is 30 days old or less at the time the | 6 | | child is
initially relinquished to a hospital, police station, | 7 | | fire station, or
emergency
medical facility, and who is not an | 8 | | abused or a neglected child.
| 9 | | "Police station" means a municipal police station, a county | 10 | | sheriff's
office, a campus police department located on any | 11 | | college or university owned or controlled by the State or any | 12 | | private college or private university that is not owned or | 13 | | controlled by the State when employees of the campus police | 14 | | department are present, or any of the district headquarters of | 15 | | the Illinois State Police.
| 16 | | "Relinquish" means to bring a newborn infant, who a
| 17 | | licensed physician reasonably believes is 30 days old or less,
| 18 | | to a hospital, police station, fire station, or emergency | 19 | | medical facility
and
to leave the infant with personnel of the | 20 | | facility, if the person leaving the
infant does not express an | 21 | | intent to return for the
infant or states that he or she will | 22 | | not return for the infant.
In the case of a mother who gives | 23 | | birth to an infant in a hospital,
the mother's act of leaving | 24 | | that newborn infant at the
hospital (i) without expressing an | 25 | | intent to return for the infant or (ii)
stating that she will | 26 | | not return for the infant is not a "relinquishment" under
this |
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| 1 | | Act.
| 2 | | "Temporary protective custody" means the temporary | 3 | | placement of
a newborn infant within a hospital or other | 4 | | medical facility out of the
custody of the infant's parent.
| 5 | | (Source: P.A. 97-293, eff. 8-11-11; 98-973, eff. 8-15-14.)
| 6 | | (325 ILCS 2/20)
| 7 | | Sec. 20. Procedures with respect to relinquished newborn
| 8 | | infants.
| 9 | | (a) Hospitals. Every hospital must accept and
provide all | 10 | | necessary emergency services and care to a relinquished
newborn | 11 | | infant, in accordance with this Act.
The hospital shall examine | 12 | | a relinquished newborn infant and perform tests
that, based on | 13 | | reasonable medical judgment, are appropriate in evaluating
| 14 | | whether the relinquished newborn infant was abused or | 15 | | neglected.
| 16 | | The act of relinquishing a newborn infant serves as implied
| 17 | | consent for the hospital and its medical personnel and | 18 | | physicians on
staff to treat and provide care for the
infant.
| 19 | | The hospital shall be deemed to have temporary protective | 20 | | custody of a
relinquished newborn
infant brought to a hospital | 21 | | by a relinquishing person or who has been brought to a hospital | 22 | | after relinquishment at a fire station, police station, or | 23 | | emergency medical facility. The hospital shall have such | 24 | | protective custody until the infant is discharged to the | 25 | | custody of a
child-placing agency or the Department. During |
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| 1 | | this time of temporary protective custody of the infant, the | 2 | | hospital shall complete a foundling record with respect to the | 3 | | infant pursuant to Section 13 of the Vital Records Act.
| 4 | | (b) Fire stations , police stations, and emergency medical | 5 | | facilities. Every fire
station , police station, and emergency | 6 | | medical facility must accept and
provide all necessary | 7 | | emergency services and care to a relinquished
newborn infant, | 8 | | in accordance with this Act.
| 9 | | The act of relinquishing a newborn infant serves as implied
| 10 | | consent for the fire station , police station, or emergency | 11 | | medical facility and
its emergency medical professionals to | 12 | | treat and provide care for the
infant, to the extent that those | 13 | | emergency medical professionals are trained
to
provide those | 14 | | services.
| 15 | | After the relinquishment of a newborn infant to a fire | 16 | | station , police station, or
emergency medical facility, the | 17 | | fire station , police station, or emergency medical
facility's | 18 | | personnel must arrange for the transportation of the
infant to | 19 | | the nearest hospital as soon as
transportation can be arranged.
| 20 | | If the parent of a newborn infant returns to reclaim the
| 21 | | child within 72 hours after relinquishing the child to a fire | 22 | | station or
emergency
medical facility, the fire station or | 23 | | emergency medical facility must inform
the parent of the name | 24 | | and location of the hospital to which the infant was
| 25 | | transported.
| 26 | | (c) If a parent of a newborn infant or any other person |
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| 1 | | returns to reclaim the infant after relinquishing the infant to | 2 | | a hospital, fire station, police station, or emergency medical | 3 | | facility, the hospital, fire station, police station, or | 4 | | emergency medical facility shall inform the parent or other | 5 | | person that he or she must contact the Department and shall | 6 | | provide the parent or other person with the toll-free telephone | 7 | | number established by the Department for the sole purpose of | 8 | | receiving calls made pursuant to this Section and for providing | 9 | | the parent or person relinquishing the infant with the name of | 10 | | the hospital or licensed child-placing agency to which the | 11 | | infant has been taken. The Department shall adopt rules | 12 | | necessary to create this dedicated toll-free telephone number | 13 | | within 120 days of the effective date of this amendatory Act of | 14 | | the 99th General Assembly. The rules shall require that any | 15 | | call placed to the toll-free telephone number shall be returned | 16 | | within one hour from the time the call was placed. Police | 17 | | stations. Every police station must accept a relinquished
| 18 | | newborn
infant, in accordance with this Act. After the | 19 | | relinquishment of a newborn
infant to a
police station, the | 20 | | police station must arrange for the transportation of the
| 21 | | infant to the
nearest hospital as soon as transportation can be | 22 | | arranged.
The act of relinquishing a
newborn infant serves as | 23 | | implied consent for the hospital to which the infant
is
| 24 | | transported and that hospital's medical personnel and | 25 | | physicians on staff to
treat and
provide care for the infant.
| 26 | | If the parent of a newborn infant returns to reclaim the |
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| 1 | | infant within 72
hours after
relinquishing the infant to a | 2 | | police station,
the police station must inform the parent of | 3 | | the
name and location of the hospital to which the infant was | 4 | | transported.
| 5 | | (Source: P.A. 92-408, eff. 8-17-01; 92-432, eff. 8-17-01; | 6 | | 93-820, eff. 7-27-04 .)
| 7 | | (325 ILCS 2/35)
| 8 | | Sec. 35. Information for relinquishing person. | 9 | | (a) A hospital, police
station, fire station,
or emergency
| 10 | | medical facility that receives a newborn infant relinquished in | 11 | | accordance with
this
Act must offer an information packet to | 12 | | the relinquishing person and, if
possible, must clearly inform | 13 | | the relinquishing person that his or her
acceptance of the
| 14 | | information is completely voluntary. The
information packet | 15 | | must include all of
the following:
| 16 | | (1) (Blank).
| 17 | | (2) Written notice of the following:
| 18 | | (A) No sooner than 30 days following the date of No | 19 | | sooner than 60 days following the date of the
initial | 20 | | relinquishment of the infant to a hospital, police | 21 | | station,
fire station, or emergency medical facility, | 22 | | the child-placing agency or the
Department will
| 23 | | commence proceedings for the termination of
parental | 24 | | rights and placement of the infant for
adoption.
| 25 | | (B) Failure of a parent of the
infant to contact |
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| 1 | | the Department and
petition for the return of custody | 2 | | of the
infant before termination of parental rights
| 3 | | bars any future action asserting legal rights
with | 4 | | respect to the infant.
| 5 | | (3) A resource list of providers of counseling
services | 6 | | including grief counseling, pregnancy counseling, and
| 7 | | counseling regarding adoption and other available options | 8 | | for placement of the
infant.
| 9 | | Upon request of a parent, the Department of Public Health | 10 | | shall provide the
application forms for the Illinois Adoption | 11 | | Registry and Medical Information
Exchange.
| 12 | | (b) The information packet given to a relinquishing parent | 13 | | in accordance with this Act shall include, in addition to other | 14 | | information required under this Act, the following: | 15 | | (1) A brochure (with a self-mailer attached) that | 16 | | describes this Act and the rights of birth parents, | 17 | | including an optional section for the parent to complete | 18 | | and mail to the Department of Children and Family Services, | 19 | | that shall ask for basic anonymous background information | 20 | | about the relinquished child. This brochure shall be | 21 | | maintained by the Department on its website. | 22 | | (2) A brochure that describes the Illinois Adoption | 23 | | Registry, including a toll-free number and website | 24 | | information. This brochure shall be maintained on the | 25 | | Office of Vital Records website. | 26 | | (3) A brochure describing postpartum health |
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| 1 | | information for the mother. | 2 | | The information packet shall be designed in coordination | 3 | | between the Office of Vital Records and the Department of | 4 | | Children and Family Services, with the exception of the | 5 | | resource list of providers of counseling services and adoption | 6 | | agencies, which shall be provided by the hospital, fire | 7 | | station, police station, sheriff's office, or emergency | 8 | | medical facility. | 9 | | (Source: P.A. 96-1114, eff. 7-20-10; 97-333, eff. 8-12-11.)
| 10 | | (325 ILCS 2/50)
| 11 | | Sec. 50. Child-placing agency procedures.
| 12 | | (a) The Department's
State Central Registry must maintain a | 13 | | list of licensed child-placing
agencies willing to take legal | 14 | | custody of newborn infants relinquished
in accordance with this | 15 | | Act. The
child-placing agencies on the list must be contacted | 16 | | by the
Department on a rotating basis upon notice from a | 17 | | hospital
that a newborn infant has been
relinquished in | 18 | | accordance with this Act.
| 19 | | (b) Upon notice from the Department that a newborn infant | 20 | | has
been relinquished in accordance with this Act, a | 21 | | child-placing
agency must accept the newborn infant if the | 22 | | agency has the accommodations to
do
so. The
child-placing | 23 | | agency must seek an order for legal custody of the
infant upon | 24 | | its acceptance of the infant.
| 25 | | (c) Within 3 business days after assuming physical custody |
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| 1 | | of the infant,
the child-placing agency shall file a
petition
| 2 | | in the division of the
circuit court in which petitions for | 3 | | adoption would normally be
heard. The petition shall allege | 4 | | that the newborn infant has been relinquished
in accordance | 5 | | with this Act and shall state that the child-placing agency
| 6 | | intends to place the infant in an adoptive home.
| 7 | | (d) If no licensed child-placing agency is able to accept | 8 | | the
relinquished newborn infant, then the Department must | 9 | | assume
responsibility for the infant as soon as practicable.
| 10 | | (e) A custody order issued under subsection (b) shall | 11 | | remain in
effect until a final adoption order based on the | 12 | | relinquished newborn
infant's best interests is issued in | 13 | | accordance with this Act and the Adoption
Act.
| 14 | | (f) When possible, the child-placing agency must place a
| 15 | | relinquished newborn infant in a prospective adoptive home.
| 16 | | (g) The Department or child-placing agency must initiate | 17 | | proceedings to (i)
terminate the parental rights of the | 18 | | relinquished newborn infant's
known or unknown parents, (ii) | 19 | | appoint a guardian for the infant, and
(iii) obtain consent to | 20 | | the infant's adoption in accordance with this
Act no sooner | 21 | | than 30 days no sooner than 60 days following the date of the | 22 | | initial
relinquishment of the infant to the hospital, police | 23 | | station, fire station,
or
emergency medical facility.
| 24 | | (g-5) No court order terminating the parental rights of the | 25 | | relinquished newborn infant's known or unknown parents shall be | 26 | | entered sooner than 60 days after the date of the initial |
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| 1 | | relinquishment of the infant to the hospital, fire station, | 2 | | police station, or emergency medical facility. | 3 | | (h) Before filing a petition for termination of parental
| 4 | | rights, the Department or child-placing agency must do the | 5 | | following:
| 6 | | (1) Search its Putative Father Registry for the purpose | 7 | | of
determining the identity and location of the putative | 8 | | father of
the relinquished newborn infant who is, or is | 9 | | expected to be, the
subject of an adoption proceeding, in | 10 | | order to provide notice of
the proceeding to the putative | 11 | | father. At least one search of the
Registry must be | 12 | | conducted, at least 30 days after the
relinquished newborn | 13 | | infant's estimated date of birth; earlier
searches may be | 14 | | conducted, however. Notice to any potential
putative | 15 | | father discovered in a search of the Registry according
to | 16 | | the estimated age of the relinquished newborn infant must | 17 | | be
in accordance with Section 12a of the Adoption Act.
| 18 | | (2) Verify with law enforcement officials, using the | 19 | | National Crime
Information Center,
that the relinquished | 20 | | newborn infant is not a missing child.
| 21 | | (Source: P.A. 92-408, eff. 8-17-01; 92-432, eff. 8-17-01; | 22 | | 93-820, eff. 7-27-04 .)
| 23 | | (325 ILCS 2/60)
| 24 | | Sec. 60. Department's duties. The Department must | 25 | | implement a
public information program to promote safe |
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| 1 | | placement alternatives for newborn
infants. The public | 2 | | information program must inform the public of the
following:
| 3 | | (1) The relinquishment alternative provided for in | 4 | | this
Act, which results in the adoption of a newborn infant | 5 | | under 30 7 days of age
and which
provides for the parent's
| 6 | | anonymity, if the parent so chooses.
| 7 | | (2) The alternative of adoption
through a public or | 8 | | private agency, in which the parent's identity may or may
| 9 | | not be known to the agency, but is kept anonymous from the | 10 | | adoptive parents, if
the birth parent so desires, and which | 11 | | allows the parent to be actively
involved in the child's | 12 | | adoption plan.
| 13 | | The public information program may include, but
need
not be | 14 | | limited to, the
following elements:
| 15 | | (i) Educational and informational materials in print, | 16 | | audio, video,
electronic or other media.
| 17 | | (ii) Establishment of a web site.
| 18 | | (iii) Public service announcements and advertisements.
| 19 | | (iv) Establishment of toll-free
telephone
hotlines to | 20 | | provide information.
| 21 | | (Source: P.A. 94-941, eff. 6-26-06.)
| 22 | | (325 ILCS 2/65)
| 23 | | Sec. 65. Evaluation.
| 24 | | (a) The Department shall collect and analyze
information | 25 | | regarding the relinquishment of newborn infants and placement |
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| 1 | | of
children under this Act. Police stations, fire stations, | 2 | | emergency medical
facilities, and
medical professionals | 3 | | accepting and providing services to a newborn infant
under this | 4 | | Act shall report to the Department data necessary for the | 5 | | Department
to evaluate and determine the effect of this Act in | 6 | | the prevention of injury
or death of newborn infants. | 7 | | Child-placing agencies shall report to the
Department data | 8 | | necessary to evaluate and determine the effectiveness of these
| 9 | | agencies in providing child protective and child welfare | 10 | | services to newborn
infants relinquished under this Act.
| 11 | | (b) The information collected shall include,
but need not | 12 | | be limited to: the number of newborn infants relinquished; the
| 13 | | services provided to relinquished newborn infants; the outcome
| 14 | | of care for the relinquished newborn infants; the number and | 15 | | disposition of
cases of relinquished newborn infants subject to | 16 | | placement; the number of
children accepted and served by each | 17 | | child-placing agency agencies ; the name of each child-placing | 18 | | agency which provided services; the number of infants | 19 | | relinquished at each location, listed by location, including | 20 | | the number of infants relinquished at a hospital, fire station, | 21 | | police station, and emergency medical facility; and the | 22 | | services
provided by child-placing agencies and the | 23 | | disposition of the cases of the
children placed under this Act.
| 24 | | (c) The Department shall submit a report by
January 1, | 25 | | 2002, and on January 1 of each
year thereafter, to the Governor | 26 | | and General Assembly regarding the prevention
of injury or |
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| 1 | | death of newborn infants and the effect of placements of | 2 | | children
under this Act. The report shall include, but need not | 3 | | be limited to, a
summary of
collected data, an analysis of the | 4 | | data and conclusions regarding the Act's
effectiveness, a | 5 | | determination whether the purposes of the Act are being
| 6 | | achieved,
and recommendations for changes that may be | 7 | | considered necessary to improve the
administration and | 8 | | enforcement of this Act.
| 9 | | (Source: P.A. 92-408, eff. 8-17-01; 92-432, eff. 8-17-01; | 10 | | 93-820, eff. 7-27-04 .)".
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