Public Act 103-0233
 
SB1834 EnrolledLRB103 06072 RLC 51103 b

    AN ACT concerning minors.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Legislative findings. The General Assembly
finds that:
    (1) There has been a longstanding misinterpretation of
Illinois law regarding when and under what conditions children
left home alone may be considered to be neglected pursuant to
the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 and regarding the conditions
under which parents and guardians may be charged criminally
with abandonment.
    (2) Illinois law has been widely misinterpreted as stating
that children cannot be left home alone, under any
circumstances, unless the children are at least 14 years old.
This interpretation is inaccurate.
    (3) Whether a child is sufficiently mature to be safely
left home alone varies based on the circumstances and many
factors, including, but not limited to, the age of the child,
the child's individual developmental capacity, the length of
time the child will be alone, and the safety conditions of the
home.
 
    Section 5. The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 is amended by
changing Section 2-3 as follows:
 
    (705 ILCS 405/2-3)  (from Ch. 37, par. 802-3)
    Sec. 2-3. Neglected or abused minor.
    (1) Those who are neglected include any minor under 18
years of age or a minor 18 years of age or older for whom the
court has made a finding of probable cause to believe that the
minor is abused, neglected, or dependent under subsection (1)
of Section 2-10 prior to the minor's 18th birthday:
        (a) any minor under 18 years of age or a minor 18 years
    of age or older for whom the court has made a finding of
    probable cause to believe that the minor is abused,
    neglected, or dependent under subsection (1) of Section
    2-10 prior to the minor's 18th birthday who is not
    receiving the proper or necessary support, education as
    required by law, or medical or other remedial care
    recognized under State law as necessary for a minor's
    well-being, or other care necessary for his or her
    well-being, including adequate food, clothing and shelter,
    or who is abandoned by his or her parent or parents or
    other person or persons responsible for the minor's
    welfare, except that a minor shall not be considered
    neglected for the sole reason that the minor's parent or
    parents or other person or persons responsible for the
    minor's welfare have left the minor in the care of an adult
    relative for any period of time, who the parent or parents
    or other person responsible for the minor's welfare know
    is both a mentally capable adult relative and physically
    capable adult relative, as defined by this Act; or
        (b) any minor under 18 years of age or a minor 18 years
    of age or older for whom the court has made a finding of
    probable cause to believe that the minor is abused,
    neglected, or dependent under subsection (1) of Section
    2-10 prior to the minor's 18th birthday whose environment
    is injurious to his or her welfare; or
        (c) any newborn infant whose blood, urine, or meconium
    contains any amount of a controlled substance as defined
    in subsection (f) of Section 102 of the Illinois
    Controlled Substances Act, as now or hereafter amended, or
    a metabolite of a controlled substance, with the exception
    of controlled substances or metabolites of such
    substances, the presence of which in the newborn infant is
    the result of medical treatment administered to the mother
    or the newborn infant; or
        (d) any minor under the age of 14 years whose parent or
    other person responsible for the minor's welfare leaves
    the minor without supervision for an unreasonable period
    of time without regard for the mental or physical health,
    safety, or welfare of that minor. Whether the minor was
    left without regard for the mental or physical health,
    safety, or welfare of that minor or the period of time was
    unreasonable shall be determined by considering the
    following factors, including, but not limited to:
            (1) the age of the minor;
            (2) the number of minors left at the location; ; or
            (3) special needs of the minor, including whether
        the minor is a person with a physical or mental
        disability, or otherwise in need of ongoing prescribed
        medical treatment such as periodic doses of insulin or
        other medications;
            (4) the duration of time in which the minor was
        left without supervision;
            (5) the condition and location of the place where
        the minor was left without supervision;
            (6) the time of day or night when the minor was
        left without supervision;
            (7) the weather conditions, including whether the
        minor was left in a location with adequate protection
        from the natural elements such as adequate heat or
        light;
            (8) the location of the parent or guardian at the
        time the minor was left without supervision, the
        physical distance the minor was from the parent or
        guardian at the time the minor was without
        supervision;
            (9) whether the minor's movement was restricted,
        or the minor was otherwise locked within a room or
        other structure;
            (10) whether the minor was given a phone number of
        a person or location to call in the event of an
        emergency and whether the minor was capable of making
        an emergency call;
            (11) whether there was food and other provision
        left for the minor;
            (12) whether any of the conduct is attributable to
        economic hardship or illness and the parent, guardian
        or other person having physical custody or control of
        the child made a good faith effort to provide for the
        health and safety of the minor;
            (13) the age and physical and mental capabilities
        of the person or persons who provided supervision for
        the minor;
            (14) whether the minor was left under the
        supervision of another person;
            (15) any other factor that would endanger the
        health and safety of that particular minor; or
        (e) any minor who has been provided with interim
    crisis intervention services under Section 3-5 of this Act
    and whose parent, guardian, or custodian refuses to permit
    the minor to return home unless the minor is an immediate
    physical danger to himself, herself, or others living in
    the home.
    Whether the minor was left without regard for the mental
or physical health, safety, or welfare of that minor or the
period of time was unreasonable shall be determined by
considering the following factors, including but not limited
to:
        (1) the age of the minor;
        (2) the number of minors left at the location;
        (3) special needs of the minor, including whether the
    minor is a person with a physical or mental disability, or
    otherwise in need of ongoing prescribed medical treatment
    such as periodic doses of insulin or other medications;
        (4) the duration of time in which the minor was left
    without supervision;
        (5) the condition and location of the place where the
    minor was left without supervision;
        (6) the time of day or night when the minor was left
    without supervision;
        (7) the weather conditions, including whether the
    minor was left in a location with adequate protection from
    the natural elements such as adequate heat or light;
        (8) the location of the parent or guardian at the time
    the minor was left without supervision, the physical
    distance the minor was from the parent or guardian at the
    time the minor was without supervision;
        (9) whether the minor's movement was restricted, or
    the minor was otherwise locked within a room or other
    structure;
        (10) whether the minor was given a phone number of a
    person or location to call in the event of an emergency and
    whether the minor was capable of making an emergency call;
        (11) whether there was food and other provision left
    for the minor;
        (12) whether any of the conduct is attributable to
    economic hardship or illness and the parent, guardian or
    other person having physical custody or control of the
    child made a good faith effort to provide for the health
    and safety of the minor;
        (13) the age and physical and mental capabilities of
    the person or persons who provided supervision for the
    minor;
        (14) whether the minor was left under the supervision
    of another person;
        (15) any other factor that would endanger the health
    and safety of that particular minor.
    A minor shall not be considered neglected for the sole
reason that the minor has been relinquished in accordance with
the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act.
    (1.5) A minor shall not be considered neglected for the
sole reason that the minor's parent or other person
responsible for the minor's welfare permits the minor to
engage in independent activities unless the minor was
permitted to engage in independent activities under
circumstances presenting unreasonable risk of harm to the
minor's mental or physical health, safety, or well-being.
"Independent activities" includes, but is not limited to:
        (a) traveling to and from school including by walking,
    running, or bicycling;
        (b) traveling to and from nearby commercial or
    recreational facilities;
        (c) engaging in outdoor play;
        (d) remaining in a vehicle unattended, except as
    otherwise provided by law;
        (e) remaining at home or at a similarly appropriate
    location unattended; or
        (f) engaging in a similar independent activity alone
    or with other children.
    In determining whether an independent activity presented
unreasonable risk of harm, the court shall consider:
        (1) whether the activity is accepted as suitable for
    minors of the same age, maturity level, and developmental
    capacity as the involved minor;
        (2) the factors listed in items (1) through (15) of
    paragraph (d) of subsection (1); and
        (3) any other factor the court deems relevant.
    (2) Those who are abused include any minor under 18 years
of age or a minor 18 years of age or older for whom the court
has made a finding of probable cause to believe that the minor
is abused, neglected, or dependent under subsection (1) of
Section 2-10 prior to the minor's 18th birthday whose parent
or immediate family member, or any person responsible for the
minor's welfare, or any person who is in the same family or
household as the minor, or any individual residing in the same
home as the minor, or a paramour of the minor's parent:
        (i) inflicts, causes to be inflicted, or allows to be
    inflicted upon such minor physical injury, by other than
    accidental means, which causes death, disfigurement,
    impairment of physical or emotional health, or loss or
    impairment of any bodily function;
        (ii) creates a substantial risk of physical injury to
    such minor by other than accidental means which would be
    likely to cause death, disfigurement, impairment of
    emotional health, or loss or impairment of any bodily
    function;
        (iii) commits or allows to be committed any sex
    offense against such minor, as such sex offenses are
    defined in the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code
    of 2012, or in the Wrongs to Children Act, and extending
    those definitions of sex offenses to include minors under
    18 years of age;
        (iv) commits or allows to be committed an act or acts
    of torture upon such minor;
        (v) inflicts excessive corporal punishment;
        (vi) commits or allows to be committed the offense of
    involuntary servitude, involuntary sexual servitude of a
    minor, or trafficking in persons as defined in Section
    10-9 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of
    2012, upon such minor; or
        (vii) allows, encourages or requires a minor to commit
    any act of prostitution, as defined in the Criminal Code
    of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, and extending those
    definitions to include minors under 18 years of age.
    A minor shall not be considered abused for the sole reason
that the minor has been relinquished in accordance with the
Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act.
    (3) This Section does not apply to a minor who would be
included herein solely for the purpose of qualifying for
financial assistance for himself, his parents, guardian or
custodian.
    (4) The changes made by this amendatory Act of the 101st
General Assembly apply to a case that is pending on or after
the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General
Assembly.
(Source: P.A. 101-79, eff. 7-12-19.)
 
    Section 10. The Criminal Code of 2012 is amended by
changing Section 12C-10 as follows:
 
    (720 ILCS 5/12C-10)   (was 720 ILCS 5/12-21.5)
    Sec. 12C-10. Child abandonment.
    (a) A person commits child abandonment when he or she, as a
parent, guardian, or other person having physical custody or
control of a child, without regard for the mental or physical
health, safety, or welfare of that child, knowingly permits a
child to engage in independent activities that were
unreasonable under the circumstances or for an unreasonable
period of time without regard for the minor's mental or
physical health, safety, or well-being. For the purposes of
this Section, no specific age shall be determinative of
reasonableness. Reasonableness shall be determined by the
maturity of each individual child leaves that child who is
under the age of 13 without supervision by a responsible
person over the age of 14 for a period of 24 hours or more. It
is not a violation of this Section for a person to relinquish a
child in accordance with the Abandoned Newborn Infant
Protection Act.
    (b) For the purposes of determining whether the child was
left without regard for the mental or physical health, safety,
or welfare of that child, the trier of fact shall consider the
following factors:
        (1) the age of the child;
        (2) the number of children left at the location;
        (3) special needs of the child, including whether the
    child is a person with a physical or mental disability, or
    otherwise in need of ongoing prescribed medical treatment
    such as periodic doses of insulin or other medications;
        (4) the duration of time in which the child was left
    without supervision;
        (5) the condition and location of the place where the
    child was left without supervision;
        (6) the time of day or night when the child was left
    without supervision;
        (7) the weather conditions, including whether the
    child was left in a location with adequate protection from
    the natural elements such as adequate heat or light;
        (8) the location of the parent, guardian, or other
    person having physical custody or control of the child at
    the time the child was left without supervision, the
    physical distance the child was from the parent, guardian,
    or other person having physical custody or control of the
    child at the time the child was without supervision;
        (9) whether the child's movement was restricted, or
    the child was otherwise locked within a room or other
    structure;
        (10) whether the child was given a phone number of a
    person or location to call in the event of an emergency and
    whether the child was capable of making an emergency call;
        (11) whether there was food and other provision left
    for the child;
        (12) whether any of the conduct is attributable to
    economic hardship or illness and the parent, guardian or
    other person having physical custody or control of the
    child made a good faith effort to provide for the health
    and safety of the child;
        (13) the age and physical and mental capabilities of
    the person or persons who provided supervision for the
    child;
        (14) any other factor that would endanger the health
    or safety of that particular child;
        (15) whether the child was left under the supervision
    of another person.
    (c) Child abandonment is a Class 4 felony. A second or
subsequent offense after a prior conviction is a Class 3
felony. A parent, who is found to be in violation of this
Section with respect to his or her child, may be sentenced to
probation for this offense pursuant to Section 12C-15.
(Source: P.A. 98-756, eff. 7-16-14; 99-143, eff. 7-27-15.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
INDEX
Statutes amended in order of appearance
    705 ILCS 405/2-3from Ch. 37, par. 802-3
    720 ILCS 5/12C-10was 720 ILCS 5/12-21.5

Effective Date: 6/30/2023