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HB4569 - 104th General Assembly

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB4569

Introduced 1/30/2026, by Rep. Suzanne M. Ness

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

325 ILCS 5/4.2

Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Provides that
upon notification of a child's death through the State Central Register
that is subsequently accepted for investigation of abuse or neglect, the
Department of Children and Family Services shall conduct a formal review
of all available internal records if any of the following conditions are
present: (i) the deceased child was a youth in care at the time of death;
(ii) the deceased child or the child's parent is or has been the subject of
a permanency or intact family case with the Department; or (iii) the
Department has a history of one or more prior investigations of abuse or
neglect involving the deceased child or the child's parents. Requires the
Department to evaluate the quality, timeliness, and appropriateness of
previous actions taken and services provided to address identified safety
and risk issues. Contains provisions concerning information that the
Department must include in its report, including, but not limited to, the
manner of the child's death, a summary of the abuse or neglect report made
to the State Central Register, and other information. Requires the
Department to complete its review within 10 days of receiving a case.
Contains provisions requiring annual reports. Removes provisions
concerning reporting requirements on cases where a child has experienced a
life-threatening injury.
LRB104 16805 KTG 30214 b

A BILL FOR

HB4569
LRB104 16805 KTG 30214 b
1

AN ACT concerning children.

2

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3
represented in the General Assembly:

4

Section 5.
The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is
5
amended by changing Section 4.2 as follows:

6

(325 ILCS 5/4.2)
7

Sec. 4.2.
Departmental report on death
or serious
8
life-threatening injury
of child.
9

(a)
When the Department is notified through the State
10
Central Register of the death of a child and the report is
11
accepted for investigation of abuse or neglect, the Department
12
shall conduct a formal review of all available internal
13
records if any of the following conditions are present:
14

(1) The deceased child was a youth in care at the time
15

of death, regardless of the youth's age.
16

(2) The deceased child or the child's parent is or has
17

been the subject of a permanency or intact family case
18

with the Department.
19

(3) The Department has a history of one or more prior
20

investigations of abuse or neglect involving the deceased
21

child or the child's parents.
22

The formal review shall evaluate the quality, timeliness,
23
and appropriateness of previous actions taken and services

HB4569
- 2 -
LRB104 16805 KTG 30214 b
1
provided by the Department to address identified safety and
2
risk issues.
3

In the case of the death or serious life-threatening
4
injury of a child whose care and custody or custody and
5
guardianship has been transferred to the Department, or in the
6
case of a child abuse or neglect report made to the central
7
register involving the death of a child, the Department shall
8
(i) investigate or provide for an investigation of the cause
9
of and circumstances surrounding the death or serious
10
life-threatening injury, (ii) review the investigation, and
11
(iii) prepare and issue a report on the death or serious
12
life-threatening injury.
13

(b) The report shall include
:

14

(1)

(i)
the
manner

cause
of death
or serious
15

life-threatening injury
, whether
from
natural
, accident,
16

suicide, homicide, or undetermined

or other causes

;
17

(2) a brief summary of the report to the State Central
18

Register involving the death of the child;

, (ii) any
19

extraordinary or pertinent information concerning the
20

circumstances of the child's death or serious
21

life-threatening injury
22

(3)

, (iii)
identification of
any prior actions taken
23

or

child protective or other social
services provided
by
24

the Department to the deceased child or parents and an
25

evaluation of the quality, timeliness, and appropriateness
26

of actions taken or services provided to address

HB4569
- 3 -
LRB104 16805 KTG 30214 b
1

identified issues;

or actions taken regarding the child or
2

the child's family at the time of the death or serious
3

life-threatening injury or within the preceding 5 years,
4

(4) identification of underlying conditions, such as
5

multigenerational child welfare involvement, paramour
6

involvement, domestic violence, mental health issues,
7

substance use, economic stability, and developmental
8

disabilities;

(iv) any action or further investigation
9

undertaken by the Department since the death or serious
10

life-threatening injury of the child,
11

(5)

(v)
as appropriate, recommendations for State
12

administrative or policy changes
; and

,
13

(6)

(vi)
whether the alleged perpetrator of the abuse
14

or neglect has been charged with committing a crime
15

related to the report and allegation of abuse or neglect
.

16

, and (vii) a copy of any documents, files, records,
17

books, and papers created or used in connection with the
18

Department's investigation of the death or serious
19

life-threatening injury of the child. In any case
20

involving the death or near death of a child, when a person
21

responsible for the child has been charged with committing
22

a crime that results in the child's death or near death,
23

there shall be a presumption that the best interest of the
24

public will be served by public disclosure of certain
25

information concerning the circumstances of the
26

investigations of the death or near death of the child and

HB4569
- 4 -
LRB104 16805 KTG 30214 b
1

any other investigations concerning that child or other
2

children living in the same household.
3

If the Department receives from the public a request for
4
information relating to a case of child abuse or neglect
5
involving the death or serious life-threatening injury of a
6
child, the Director shall consult with the State's Attorney in
7
the county of venue and release the report related to the case,
8
except for the following, which may be redacted from the
9
information disclosed to the public: any mental health or
10
psychological information that is confidential as otherwise
11
provided in State law; privileged communications of an
12
attorney; the identity of the individual or individuals, if
13
known, who made the report; information that may cause mental
14
or physical harm to a sibling or another child living in the
15
household; information that may undermine an ongoing criminal
16
investigation; and any information prohibited from disclosure
17
by federal law or regulation. Any information provided by an
18
adult subject of a report that is released about the case in a
19
public forum shall be subject to disclosure upon a public
20
information request. Information about the case shall also be
21
subject to disclosure upon consent of an adult subject.
22
Information about the case shall also be subject to disclosure
23
if it has been publicly disclosed in a report by a law
24
enforcement agency or official, a State's Attorney, a judge,
25
or any other State or local investigative agency or official.
26
Except as it may apply directly to the cause of the death or

HB4569
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LRB104 16805 KTG 30214 b
1
serious life-threatening injury of the child, nothing in this
2
Section shall be deemed to authorize the release or disclosure
3
to the public of the substance or content of any
4
psychological, psychiatric, therapeutic, clinical, or medical
5
reports, evaluation, or like materials or information
6
pertaining to the child or the child's family.
7

(c)
The Department shall complete the formal review within
8
10 days of receiving a case that meets the eligibility
9
criteria set forth in paragraph (a). The Department shall
10
prepare and issue an annual cumulative report that summarizes
11
the findings of all such reviews. This report shall include
12
non-identifying information and aggregated data and shall be
13
submitted to the Governor and the General Assembly and
14
published on the Department's website.

No later than 6 months
15
after the date of the death or serious life-threatening injury
16
of the child, the Department shall notify the President of the
17
Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the
18
House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of
19
Representatives, and the members of the Senate and the House
20
of Representatives in whose district the child's death or
21
serious life-threatening injury occurred upon the completion
22
of each report and shall submit an annual cumulative report to
23
the Governor and the General Assembly incorporating cumulative
24
data about the above reports and including appropriate
25
findings and recommendations. The reports required by this
26
subsection (c) shall be made available to the public after

HB4569
- 6 -
LRB104 16805 KTG 30214 b
1
completion or submittal.
2

(d) To enable the Department to prepare the report
3
required under subsection (c)
, the Department may request and
4
shall timely receive from departments, boards, bureaus, or
5
other agencies of the State, or any of its political
6
subdivisions, or any duly authorized agency, or any other
7
agency which provided assistance, care, or services to the
8
deceased
or injured
child any information they are authorized
9
to provide.
10
(Source: P.A. 103-22, eff. 8-8-23.)

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