CHILD PROTECTION ACCOUNTABILIT

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB5015

Introduced 2/10/2026, by Rep. Tony M. McCombie - Steven Reick and Tom Weber

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 505/5
225 ILCS 10/4.1

from Ch. 23, par. 2214.1

Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Requires each employee
or applicant of the Department of Children and Family Services to
self-report to the Department within 30 days of incurring any subsequent
criminal history record information while employed or in anticipation of
being employed at the Department, along with completing a
self-certification form each year that there have been no updates to the
employee's or applicant's criminal history record, on a form to be
prescribed by the Department. Amends the Child Care Act of 1969. Requires
each employee and volunteer of a child care facility or non-licensed
service provider under the authority of the Department of Children and
Family Services or the Department of Early Childhood to self-report to the
appropriate Department within 30 days of incurring any subsequent criminal
history record information while employed or in anticipation of being
employed at the child care facility or non-licensed service provider,
along with completing a self-certification form each year that there have
been no updates to the employee's or volunteer's criminal history record,
on a form to be prescribed by the appropriate Department. Defines
"employee" to mean any staff person employed at a child care facility or
non-licensed service provider, including any unlicensed contractual
employee, substitute, or assistant and other support staff who have access
to children.
LRB104 19221 KTG 32666 b

A BILL FOR

HB5015
LRB104 19221 KTG 32666 b
1

AN ACT concerning State government.

2

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

4

Section 5.
The Children and Family Services Act is amended
5
by changing Section 5 as follows:

6

(20 ILCS 505/5)
7

(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 104-107
)
8

Sec. 5.
Direct child welfare services; Department of
9
Children and Family Services.
To provide direct child welfare
10
services when not available through other public or private
11
child care or program facilities.
12

(a) For purposes of this Section:
13

(1) "Children" means persons found within the State
14

who are under the age of 18 years. The term also includes
15

persons under age 21 who:
16

(A) were committed to the Department pursuant to
17

the Juvenile Court Act or the Juvenile Court Act of
18

1987 and who continue under the jurisdiction of the
19

court; or
20

(B) were accepted for care, service and training
21

by the Department prior to the age of 18 and whose best
22

interest in the discretion of the Department would be
23

served by continuing that care, service and training

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1

because of severe emotional disturbances, physical
2

disability, social adjustment or any combination
3

thereof, or because of the need to complete an
4

educational or vocational training program.
5

(2) "Homeless youth" means persons found within the
6

State who are under the age of 19, are not in a safe and
7

stable living situation and cannot be reunited with their
8

families.
9

(3) "Child welfare services" means public social
10

services which are directed toward the accomplishment of
11

the following purposes:
12

(A) protecting and promoting the health, safety
13

and welfare of children, including homeless,
14

dependent, or neglected children;
15

(B) remedying, or assisting in the solution of
16

problems which may result in, the neglect, abuse,
17

exploitation, or delinquency of children;
18

(C) preventing the unnecessary separation of
19

children from their families by identifying family
20

problems, assisting families in resolving their
21

problems, and preventing the breakup of the family
22

where the prevention of child removal is desirable and
23

possible when the child can be cared for at home
24

without endangering the child's health and safety;
25

(D) restoring to their families children who have
26

been removed, by the provision of services to the

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1

child and the families when the child can be cared for
2

at home without endangering the child's health and
3

safety;
4

(E) placing children in suitable permanent family
5

arrangements, through guardianship or adoption, in
6

cases where restoration to the birth family is not
7

safe, possible, or appropriate;
8

(F) at the time of placement, conducting
9

concurrent planning, as described in subsection (l-1)
10

of this Section, so that permanency may occur at the
11

earliest opportunity. Consideration should be given so
12

that if reunification fails or is delayed, the
13

placement made is the best available placement to
14

provide permanency for the child;
15

(G) (blank);
16

(H) (blank); and
17

(I) placing and maintaining children in facilities
18

that provide separate living quarters for children
19

under the age of 18 and for children 18 years of age
20

and older, unless a child 18 years of age is in the
21

last year of high school education or vocational
22

training, in an approved individual or group treatment
23

program, in a licensed shelter facility, or secure
24

child care facility. The Department is not required to
25

place or maintain children:
26

(i) who are in a foster home, or

HB5015
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LRB104 19221 KTG 32666 b
1

(ii) who are persons with a developmental
2

disability, as defined in the Mental Health and
3

Developmental Disabilities Code, or
4

(iii) who are female children who are
5

pregnant, pregnant and parenting, or parenting, or
6

(iv) who are siblings, in facilities that
7

provide separate living quarters for children 18
8

years of age and older and for children under 18
9

years of age.
10

(b) (Blank).
11

(b-5) The Department shall adopt rules to establish a
12
process for all licensed residential providers in Illinois to
13
submit data as required by the Department if they contract or
14
receive reimbursement for children's mental health, substance
15
use, and developmental disability services from the Department
16
of Human Services, the Department of Juvenile Justice, or the
17
Department of Healthcare and Family Services. The requested
18
data must include, but is not limited to, capacity, staffing,
19
and occupancy data for the purpose of establishing State need
20
and placement availability.
21

All information collected, shared, or stored pursuant to
22
this subsection shall be handled in accordance with all State
23
and federal privacy laws and accompanying regulations and
24
rules, including
,
without limitation
,
the federal Health
25
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Public
26
Law 104-191) and the Mental Health and Developmental

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1
Disabilities Confidentiality Act.
2

(c) The Department shall establish and maintain
3
tax-supported child welfare services and extend and seek to
4
improve voluntary services throughout the State, to the end
5
that services and care shall be available on an equal basis
6
throughout the State to children requiring such services.
7

(d) The Director may authorize advance disbursements for
8
any new program initiative to any agency contracting with the
9
Department. As a prerequisite for an advance disbursement, the
10
contractor must post a surety bond in the amount of the advance
11
disbursement and have a purchase of service contract approved
12
by the Department. The Department may pay up to 2 months
13
operational expenses in advance. The amount of the advance
14
disbursement shall be prorated over the life of the contract
15
or the remaining months of the fiscal year, whichever is less,
16
and the installment amount shall then be deducted from future
17
bills. Advance disbursement authorizations for new initiatives
18
shall not be made to any agency after that agency has operated
19
during 2 consecutive fiscal years. The requirements of this
20
Section concerning advance disbursements shall not apply with
21
respect to the following: payments to local public agencies
22
for child day care services as authorized by Section 5a of this
23
Act; and youth service programs receiving grant funds under
24
Section 17a-4.
25

(e) (Blank).
26

(f) (Blank).

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LRB104 19221 KTG 32666 b
1

(g) The Department shall establish rules and regulations
2
concerning its operation of programs designed to meet the
3
goals of child safety and protection, family preservation, and
4
permanency, including, but not limited to:
5

(1) reunification, guardianship, and adoption;
6

(2) relative and licensed foster care;
7

(3) family counseling;
8

(4) protective services;
9

(5) (blank);
10

(6) homemaker service;
11

(7) return of runaway children;
12

(8) (blank);
13

(9) placement under Section 5-7 of the Juvenile Court
14

Act or Section 2-27, 3-28, 4-25, or 5-740 of the Juvenile
15

Court Act of 1987 in accordance with the federal Adoption
16

Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980; and
17

(10) interstate services.
18

Rules and regulations established by the Department shall
19
include provisions for training Department staff and the staff
20
of Department grantees, through contracts with other agencies
21
or resources, in screening techniques to identify substance
22
use disorders, as defined in the Substance Use Disorder Act,
23
approved by the Department of Human Services, as a successor
24
to the Department of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, for the
25
purpose of identifying children and adults who should be
26
referred for an assessment at an organization appropriately

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1
licensed by the Department of Human Services for substance use
2
disorder treatment.
3

(h) If the Department finds that there is no appropriate
4
program or facility within or available to the Department for
5
a youth in care and that no licensed private facility has an
6
adequate and appropriate program or none agrees to accept the
7
youth in care, the Department shall create an appropriate
8
individualized, program-oriented plan for such youth in care.
9
The plan may be developed within the Department or through
10
purchase of services by the Department to the extent that it is
11
within its statutory authority to do.
12

(i) Service programs shall be available throughout the
13
State and shall include but not be limited to the following
14
services:
15

(1) case management;
16

(2) homemakers;
17

(3) counseling;
18

(4) parent education;
19

(5) day care;
20

(6) emergency assistance and advocacy; and
21

(7) kinship navigator and relative caregiver supports.
22

In addition, the following services may be made available
23
to assess and meet the needs of children and families:
24

(1) comprehensive family-based services;
25

(2) assessments;
26

(3) respite care; and

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LRB104 19221 KTG 32666 b
1

(4) in-home health services.
2

The Department shall provide transportation for any of the
3
services it makes available to children or families or for
4
which it refers children or families.
5

(j) The Department may provide categories of financial
6
assistance and education assistance grants, and shall
7
establish rules and regulations concerning the assistance and
8
grants, to persons who adopt or become subsidized guardians of
9
children with physical or mental disabilities, children who
10
are older, or other hard-to-place children who (i) immediately
11
prior to their adoption or subsidized guardianship were youth
12
in care or (ii) were determined eligible for financial
13
assistance with respect to a prior adoption and who become
14
available for adoption because the prior adoption has been
15
dissolved and the parental rights of the adoptive parents have
16
been terminated or because the child's adoptive parents have
17
died. The Department may continue to provide financial
18
assistance and education assistance grants for a child who was
19
determined eligible for financial assistance under this
20
subsection (j) in the interim period beginning when the
21
child's adoptive parents died and ending with the finalization
22
of the new adoption of the child by another adoptive parent or
23
parents. The Department may also provide categories of
24
financial assistance and education assistance grants, and
25
shall establish rules and regulations for the assistance and
26
grants, to persons appointed guardian of the person under

HB5015
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LRB104 19221 KTG 32666 b
1
Section 5-7 of the Juvenile Court Act or Section 2-27, 3-28,
2
4-25, or 5-740 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 for children
3
who were youth in care for 12 months immediately prior to the
4
appointment of the guardian.
5

The amount of assistance may vary, depending upon the
6
needs of the child and the adoptive parents or subsidized
7
guardians, as set forth in the annual assistance agreement.
8
Special purpose grants are allowed where the child requires
9
special service but such costs may not exceed the amounts
10
which similar services would cost the Department if it were to
11
provide or secure them as guardian of the child.
12

Any financial assistance provided under this subsection is
13
inalienable by assignment, sale, execution, attachment,
14
garnishment, or any other remedy for recovery or collection of
15
a judgment or debt.
16

(j-5) The Department shall not deny or delay the placement
17
of a child for adoption if an approved family is available
18
either outside of the Department region handling the case, or
19
outside of the State of Illinois.
20

(k) The Department shall accept for care and training any
21
child who has been adjudicated neglected or abused, or
22
dependent committed to it pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act
23
or the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
24

(l) The Department shall offer family preservation
25
services, as defined in Section 8.2 of the Abused and
26
Neglected Child Reporting Act, to help families, including

HB5015
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LRB104 19221 KTG 32666 b
1
adoptive and extended families. Family preservation services
2
shall be offered (i) to prevent the placement of children in
3
substitute care when the children can be cared for at home or
4
in the custody of the person responsible for the children's
5
welfare, (ii) to reunite children with their families, or
6
(iii) to maintain an adoption or subsidized guardianship.
7
Family preservation services shall only be offered when doing
8
so will not endanger the children's health or safety. With
9
respect to children who are in substitute care pursuant to the
10
Juvenile Court Act of 1987, family preservation services shall
11
not be offered if a goal other than those of subdivisions (A),
12
(B), or (B-1) of subsection (2.3) of Section 2-28 of that Act
13
has been set, except that reunification services may be
14
offered as provided in paragraph (F) of subsection (2.3) of
15
Section 2-28 of that Act. Nothing in this paragraph shall be
16
construed to create a private right of action or claim on the
17
part of any individual or child welfare agency, except that
18
when a child is the subject of an action under Article II of
19
the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 and the child's service plan
20
calls for services to facilitate achievement of the permanency
21
goal, the court hearing the action under Article II of the
22
Juvenile Court Act of 1987 may order the Department to provide
23
the services set out in the plan, if those services are not
24
provided with reasonable promptness and if those services are
25
available.
26

The Department shall notify the child and the child's

HB5015
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LRB104 19221 KTG 32666 b
1
family of the Department's responsibility to offer and provide
2
family preservation services as identified in the service
3
plan. The child and the child's family shall be eligible for
4
services as soon as the report is determined to be
5
"indicated". The Department may offer services to any child or
6
family with respect to whom a report of suspected child abuse
7
or neglect has been filed, prior to concluding its
8
investigation under Section 7.12 of the Abused and Neglected
9
Child Reporting Act. However, the child's or family's
10
willingness to accept services shall not be considered in the
11
investigation. The Department may also provide services to any
12
child or family who is the subject of any report of suspected
13
child abuse or neglect or may refer such child or family to
14
services available from other agencies in the community, even
15
if the report is determined to be unfounded, if the conditions
16
in the child's or family's home are reasonably likely to
17
subject the child or family to future reports of suspected
18
child abuse or neglect. Acceptance of such services shall be
19
voluntary. The Department may also provide services to any
20
child or family after completion of a family assessment, as an
21
alternative to an investigation, as provided under the
22
"differential response program" provided for in subsection
23
(a-5) of Section 7.4 of the Abused and Neglected Child
24
Reporting Act.
25

The Department may, at its discretion except for those
26
children also adjudicated neglected or dependent, accept for

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LRB104 19221 KTG 32666 b
1
care and training any child who has been adjudicated addicted,
2
as a truant minor in need of supervision or as a minor
3
requiring authoritative intervention, under the Juvenile Court
4
Act or the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, but no such child shall
5
be committed to the Department by any court without the
6
approval of the Department. On and after January 1, 2015 (the
7
effective date of Public Act 98-803) and before January 1,
8
2017, a minor charged with a criminal offense under the
9
Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or
10
adjudicated delinquent shall not be placed in the custody of
11
or committed to the Department by any court, except (i) a minor
12
less than 16 years of age committed to the Department under
13
Section 5-710 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, (ii) a minor
14
for whom an independent basis of abuse, neglect, or dependency
15
exists, which must be defined by departmental rule, or (iii) a
16
minor for whom the court has granted a supplemental petition
17
to reinstate wardship pursuant to subsection (2) of Section
18
2-33 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. On and after January 1,
19
2017, a minor charged with a criminal offense under the
20
Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or
21
adjudicated delinquent shall not be placed in the custody of
22
or committed to the Department by any court, except (i) a minor
23
less than 15 years of age committed to the Department under
24
Section 5-710 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, (ii) a minor
25
for whom an independent basis of abuse, neglect, or dependency
26
exists, which must be defined by departmental rule, or (iii) a

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1
minor for whom the court has granted a supplemental petition
2
to reinstate wardship pursuant to subsection (2) of Section
3
2-33 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. An independent basis
4
exists when the allegations or adjudication of abuse, neglect,
5
or dependency do not arise from the same facts, incident, or
6
circumstances which give rise to a charge or adjudication of
7
delinquency. The Department shall assign a caseworker to
8
attend any hearing involving a youth in the care and custody of
9
the Department who is placed on aftercare release, including
10
hearings involving sanctions for violation of aftercare
11
release conditions and aftercare release revocation hearings.
12

As soon as is possible, the Department shall develop and
13
implement a special program of family preservation services to
14
support intact, relative, foster, and adoptive families who
15
are experiencing extreme hardships due to the difficulty and
16
stress of caring for a child who has been diagnosed with a
17
pervasive developmental disorder if the Department determines
18
that those services are necessary to ensure the health and
19
safety of the child. The Department may offer services to any
20
family whether or not a report has been filed under the Abused
21
and Neglected Child Reporting Act. The Department may refer
22
the child or family to services available from other agencies
23
in the community if the conditions in the child's or family's
24
home are reasonably likely to subject the child or family to
25
future reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. Acceptance
26
of these services shall be voluntary. The Department shall

HB5015
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LRB104 19221 KTG 32666 b
1
develop and implement a public information campaign to alert
2
health and social service providers and the general public
3
about these special family preservation services. The nature
4
and scope of the services offered and the number of families
5
served under the special program implemented under this
6
paragraph shall be determined by the level of funding that the
7
Department annually allocates for this purpose. The term
8
"pervasive developmental disorder" under this paragraph means
9
a neurological condition, including, but not limited to,
10
Asperger's Syndrome and autism, as defined in the most recent
11
edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
12
Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association.
13

(l-1) The General Assembly recognizes that the best
14
interests of the child require that the child be placed in the
15
most permanent living arrangement that is an appropriate
16
option for the child, consistent with the child's best
17
interest, using the factors set forth in subsection (4.05) of
18
Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 as soon as is
19
practically possible. To achieve this goal, the General
20
Assembly directs the Department of Children and Family
21
Services to conduct concurrent planning so that permanency may
22
occur at the earliest opportunity. Permanent living
23
arrangements may include prevention of placement of a child
24
outside the home of the family when the child can be cared for
25
at home without endangering the child's health or safety;
26
reunification with the family, when safe and appropriate, if

HB5015
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LRB104 19221 KTG 32666 b
1
temporary placement is necessary; or movement of the child
2
toward the most appropriate living arrangement and legal
3
status.
4

When determining reasonable efforts to be made with
5
respect to a child, as described in this subsection, and in
6
making such reasonable efforts, the child's health and safety
7
shall be the paramount concern.
8

When a child is placed in foster care, the Department
9
shall ensure and document that reasonable efforts were made to
10
prevent or eliminate the need to remove the child from the
11
child's home. The Department must make reasonable efforts to
12
reunify the family when temporary placement of the child
13
occurs unless otherwise required, pursuant to the Juvenile
14
Court Act of 1987. At any time after the dispositional hearing
15
where the Department believes that further reunification
16
services would be ineffective, it may request a finding from
17
the court that reasonable efforts are no longer appropriate.
18
The Department is not required to provide further
19
reunification services after such a finding.
20

A decision to place a child in substitute care shall be
21
made with considerations of the child's health, safety, and
22
best interests. The Department shall make diligent efforts to
23
place the child with a relative, document those diligent
24
efforts, and document reasons for any failure or inability to
25
secure such a relative placement. If the primary issue
26
preventing an emergency placement of a child with a relative

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1
is a lack of resources, including, but not limited to,
2
concrete goods, safety modifications, and services, the
3
Department shall make diligent efforts to assist the relative
4
in obtaining the necessary resources. No later than July 1,
5
2025, the Department shall adopt rules defining what is
6
diligent and necessary in providing supports to potential
7
relative placements. At the time of placement, consideration
8
should also be given so that if reunification fails or is
9
delayed, the placement has the potential to be an appropriate
10
permanent placement for the child.
11

The Department shall adopt rules addressing concurrent
12
planning for reunification and permanency. The Department
13
shall consider the following factors when determining
14
appropriateness of concurrent planning:
15

(1) the likelihood of prompt reunification;
16

(2) the past history of the family;
17

(3) the barriers to reunification being addressed by
18

the family;
19

(4) the level of cooperation of the family;
20

(4.5) the child's wishes;
21

(5) the caregivers' willingness to work with the
22

family to reunite;
23

(6) the willingness and ability of the caregivers' to
24

provide a permanent placement;
25

(7) the age of the child;
26

(8) placement of siblings; and

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1

(9) the wishes of the parent or parents unless the
2

parental preferences are contrary to the best interests of
3

the child.
4

(m) The Department may assume temporary custody of any
5
child if:
6

(1) it has received a written consent to such
7

temporary custody signed by the parents of the child or by
8

the parent having custody of the child if the parents are
9

not living together or by the guardian or custodian of the
10

child if the child is not in the custody of either parent,
11

or
12

(2) the child is found in the State and neither a
13

parent, guardian nor custodian of the child can be
14

located.
15
If the child is found in the child's residence without a
16
parent, guardian, custodian, or responsible caretaker, the
17
Department may, instead of removing the child and assuming
18
temporary custody, place an authorized representative of the
19
Department in that residence until such time as a parent,
20
guardian, or custodian enters the home and expresses a
21
willingness and apparent ability to ensure the child's health
22
and safety and resume permanent charge of the child, or until a
23
relative enters the home and is willing and able to ensure the
24
child's health and safety and assume charge of the child until
25
a parent, guardian, or custodian enters the home and expresses
26
such willingness and ability to ensure the child's safety and

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resume permanent charge. After a caretaker has remained in the
2
home for a period not to exceed 12 hours, the Department must
3
follow those procedures outlined in Section 2-9, 3-11, 4-8, or
4
5-415 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
5

The Department shall have the authority, responsibilities
6
and duties that a legal custodian of the child would have
7
pursuant to subsection (9) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile
8
Court Act of 1987. Whenever a child is taken into temporary
9
custody pursuant to an investigation under the Abused and
10
Neglected Child Reporting Act, or pursuant to a referral and
11
acceptance under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 of a minor in
12
limited custody, the Department, during the period of
13
temporary custody and before the child is brought before a
14
judicial officer as required by Section 2-9, 3-11, 4-8, or
15
5-415 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, shall have the
16
authority, responsibilities and duties that a legal custodian
17
of the child would have under subsection (9) of Section 1-3 of
18
the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
19

The Department shall ensure that any child taken into
20
custody is scheduled for an appointment for a medical
21
examination.
22

A parent, guardian, or custodian of a child in the
23
temporary custody of the Department who would have custody of
24
the child if the child were not in the temporary custody of the
25
Department may deliver to the Department a signed request that
26
the Department surrender the temporary custody of the child.

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1
The Department may retain temporary custody of the child for
2
10 days after the receipt of the request, during which period
3
the Department may cause to be filed a petition pursuant to the
4
Juvenile Court Act of 1987. If a petition is so filed, the
5
Department shall retain temporary custody of the child until
6
the court orders otherwise. If a petition is not filed within
7
the 10-day period, the child shall be surrendered to the
8
custody of the requesting parent, guardian, or custodian not
9
later than the expiration of the 10-day period, at which time
10
the authority and duties of the Department with respect to the
11
temporary custody of the child shall terminate.
12

(m-1) The Department may place children under 18 years of
13
age in a secure child care facility licensed by the Department
14
that cares for children who are in need of secure living
15
arrangements for their health, safety, and well-being after a
16
determination is made by the facility director and the
17
Director or the Director's designate prior to admission to the
18
facility subject to Section 2-27.1 of the Juvenile Court Act
19
of 1987. This subsection (m-1) does not apply to a child who is
20
subject to placement in a correctional facility operated
21
pursuant to Section 3-15-2 of the Unified Code of Corrections,
22
unless the child is a youth in care who was placed in the care
23
of the Department before being subject to placement in a
24
correctional facility and a court of competent jurisdiction
25
has ordered placement of the child in a secure care facility.
26

(n) The Department may place children under 18 years of

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1
age in licensed child care facilities when in the opinion of
2
the Department, appropriate services aimed at family
3
preservation have been unsuccessful and cannot ensure the
4
child's health and safety or are unavailable and such
5
placement would be for their best interest. Payment for board,
6
clothing, care, training and supervision of any child placed
7
in a licensed child care facility may be made by the
8
Department, by the parents or guardians of the estates of
9
those children, or by both the Department and the parents or
10
guardians, except that no payments shall be made by the
11
Department for any child placed in a licensed child care
12
facility for board, clothing, care, training, and supervision
13
of such a child that exceed the average per capita cost of
14
maintaining and of caring for a child in institutions for
15
dependent or neglected children operated by the Department.
16
However, such restriction on payments does not apply in cases
17
where children require specialized care and treatment for
18
problems of severe emotional disturbance, physical disability,
19
social adjustment, or any combination thereof and suitable
20
facilities for the placement of such children are not
21
available at payment rates within the limitations set forth in
22
this Section. All reimbursements for services delivered shall
23
be absolutely inalienable by assignment, sale, attachment, or
24
garnishment or otherwise.
25

(n-1) The Department shall provide or authorize child
26
welfare services, aimed at assisting minors to achieve

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1
sustainable self-sufficiency as independent adults, for any
2
minor eligible for the reinstatement of wardship pursuant to
3
subsection (2) of Section 2-33 of the Juvenile Court Act of
4
1987, whether or not such reinstatement is sought or allowed,
5
provided that the minor consents to such services and has not
6
yet attained the age of 21. The Department shall have
7
responsibility for the development and delivery of services
8
under this Section. An eligible youth may access services
9
under this Section through the Department of Children and
10
Family Services or by referral from the Department of Human
11
Services. Youth participating in services under this Section
12
shall cooperate with the assigned case manager in developing
13
an agreement identifying the services to be provided and how
14
the youth will increase skills to achieve self-sufficiency. A
15
homeless shelter is not considered appropriate housing for any
16
youth receiving child welfare services under this Section. The
17
Department shall continue child welfare services under this
18
Section to any eligible minor until the minor becomes 21 years
19
of age, no longer consents to participate, or achieves
20
self-sufficiency as identified in the minor's service plan.
21
The Department of Children and Family Services shall create
22
clear, readable notice of the rights of former foster youth to
23
child welfare services under this Section and how such
24
services may be obtained. The Department of Children and
25
Family Services and the Department of Human Services shall
26
disseminate this information statewide. The Department shall

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1
adopt regulations describing services intended to assist
2
minors in achieving sustainable self-sufficiency as
3
independent adults.
4

(o) The Department shall establish an administrative
5
review and appeal process for children and families who
6
request or receive child welfare services from the Department.
7
Youth in care who are placed by private child welfare
8
agencies, and caregivers with whom those youth are placed,
9
shall be afforded the same procedural and appeal rights as
10
children and families in the case of placement by the
11
Department, including the right to an initial review of a
12
private agency decision by that agency. The Department shall
13
ensure that any private child welfare agency, which accepts
14
youth in care for placement, affords those rights to children
15
and caregivers with whom those children are placed. The
16
Department shall accept for administrative review and an
17
appeal hearing a complaint made by (i) a child or caregiver
18
with whom the child is placed concerning a decision following
19
an initial review by a private child welfare agency or (ii) a
20
prospective adoptive parent who alleges a violation of
21
subsection (j-5) of this Section. An appeal of a decision
22
concerning a change in the placement of a child shall be
23
conducted in an expedited manner. A court determination that a
24
current placement is necessary and appropriate under Section
25
2-28 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 does not constitute a
26
judicial determination on the merits of an administrative

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1
appeal, filed by a former caregiver, involving a change of
2
placement decision. No later than July 1, 2025, the Department
3
shall adopt rules to develop a reconsideration process to
4
review: a denial of certification of a relative, a denial of
5
placement with a relative, and a denial of visitation with an
6
identified relative. Rules shall include standards and
7
criteria for reconsideration that incorporate the best
8
interests of the child under subsection (4.05) of Section 1-3
9
of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, address situations where
10
multiple relatives seek certification, and provide that all
11
rules regarding placement changes shall be followed. The rules
12
shall outline the essential elements of each form used in the
13
implementation and enforcement of the provisions of this
14
amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly.
15

(p) (Blank).
16

(q) The Department may receive and use, in their entirety,
17
for the benefit of children any gift, donation, or bequest of
18
money or other property which is received on behalf of such
19
children, or any financial benefits to which such children are
20
or may become entitled while under the jurisdiction or care of
21
the Department, except that the benefits described in Section
22
5.46 must be used and conserved consistent with the provisions
23
under Section 5.46.
24

The Department shall set up and administer no-cost,
25
interest-bearing accounts in appropriate financial
26
institutions for children for whom the Department is legally

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1
responsible and who have been determined eligible for
2
Veterans' Benefits, Social Security benefits, assistance
3
allotments from the armed forces, court ordered payments,
4
parental voluntary payments, Supplemental Security Income,
5
Railroad Retirement payments, Black Lung benefits, or other
6
miscellaneous payments. Interest earned by each account shall
7
be credited to the account, unless disbursed in accordance
8
with this subsection.
9

In disbursing funds from children's accounts, the
10
Department shall:
11

(1) Establish standards in accordance with State and
12

federal laws for disbursing money from children's
13

accounts. In all circumstances, the Department's
14

Guardianship Administrator or the Guardianship
15

Administrator's designee must approve disbursements from
16

children's accounts. The Department shall be responsible
17

for keeping complete records of all disbursements for each
18

account for any purpose.
19

(2) Calculate on a monthly basis the amounts paid from
20

State funds for the child's board and care, medical care
21

not covered under Medicaid, and social services; and
22

utilize funds from the child's account, as covered by
23

regulation, to reimburse those costs. Monthly,
24

disbursements from all children's accounts, up to 1/12 of
25

$13,000,000, shall be deposited by the Department into the
26

General Revenue Fund and the balance over 1/12 of

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1

$13,000,000 into the DCFS Children's Services Fund.
2

(3) Maintain any balance remaining after reimbursing
3

for the child's costs of care, as specified in item (2).
4

The balance shall accumulate in accordance with relevant
5

State and federal laws and shall be disbursed to the child
6

or the child's guardian or to the issuing agency.
7

(r) The Department shall promulgate regulations
8
encouraging all adoption agencies to voluntarily forward to
9
the Department or its agent names and addresses of all persons
10
who have applied for and have been approved for adoption of a
11
hard-to-place child or child with a disability and the names
12
of such children who have not been placed for adoption. A list
13
of such names and addresses shall be maintained by the
14
Department or its agent, and coded lists which maintain the
15
confidentiality of the person seeking to adopt the child and
16
of the child shall be made available, without charge, to every
17
adoption agency in the State to assist the agencies in placing
18
such children for adoption. The Department may delegate to an
19
agent its duty to maintain and make available such lists. The
20
Department shall ensure that such agent maintains the
21
confidentiality of the person seeking to adopt the child and
22
of the child.
23

(s) The Department of Children and Family Services may
24
establish and implement a program to reimburse caregivers
25
licensed, certified, or otherwise approved by the Department
26
of Children and Family Services for damages sustained by the

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1
caregivers as a result of the malicious or negligent acts of
2
children placed by the Department, as well as providing third
3
party coverage for such caregivers with regard to actions of
4
children placed by the Department to other individuals. Such
5
coverage will be secondary to the caregiver's liability
6
insurance policy, if applicable. The program shall be funded
7
through appropriations from the General Revenue Fund,
8
specifically designated for such purposes.
9

(t) The Department shall perform home studies and
10
investigations and shall exercise supervision over visitation
11
as ordered by a court pursuant to the Illinois Marriage and
12
Dissolution of Marriage Act or the Adoption Act only if:
13

(1) an order entered by an Illinois court specifically
14

directs the Department to perform such services; and
15

(2) the court has ordered one or both of the parties to
16

the proceeding to reimburse the Department for its
17

reasonable costs for providing such services in accordance
18

with Department rules, or has determined that neither
19

party is financially able to pay.
20

The Department shall provide written notification to the
21
court of the specific arrangements for supervised visitation
22
and projected monthly costs within 60 days of the court order.
23
The Department shall send to the court information related to
24
the costs incurred except in cases where the court has
25
determined the parties are financially unable to pay. The
26
court may order additional periodic reports as appropriate.

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1

(u) In addition to other information that must be
2
provided, whenever the Department places a child with a
3
prospective adoptive parent or parents, in a licensed foster
4
home, group home, or child care institution, in a relative
5
home, or in a certified relative caregiver home, the
6
Department shall provide to the caregiver, appropriate
7
facility staff, or prospective adoptive parent or parents:
8

(1) available detailed information concerning the
9

child's educational and health history, copies of
10

immunization records (including insurance and medical card
11

information), a history of the child's previous
12

placements, if any, and reasons for placement changes
13

excluding any information that identifies or reveals the
14

location of any previous caregiver or adoptive parents;
15

(2) a copy of the child's portion of the client
16

service plan, including any visitation arrangement, and
17

all amendments or revisions to it as related to the child;
18

and
19

(3) information containing details of the child's
20

individualized
education program

educational plan
when the
21

child is receiving special education services.
22

The caregiver, appropriate facility staff, or prospective
23
adoptive parent or parents, shall be informed of any known
24
social or behavioral information (including, but not limited
25
to, criminal background, fire setting, perpetuation of sexual
26
abuse, destructive behavior, and substance abuse) necessary to

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1
care for and safeguard the children to be placed or currently
2
in the home or setting. The Department may prepare a written
3
summary of the information required by this paragraph, which
4
may be provided to the caregiver, appropriate facility staff,
5
or prospective adoptive parent in advance of a placement. The
6
caregiver, appropriate facility staff, or prospective adoptive
7
parent may review the supporting documents in the child's file
8
in the presence of casework staff. In the case of an emergency
9
placement, casework staff shall at least provide known
10
information verbally, if necessary, and must subsequently
11
provide the information in writing as required by this
12
subsection.
13

The information described in this subsection shall be
14
provided in writing. In the case of emergency placements when
15
time does not allow prior review, preparation, and collection
16
of written information, the Department shall provide such
17
information as it becomes available. Within 10 business days
18
after placement, the Department shall obtain from the
19
caregiver, appropriate facility staff, or prospective adoptive
20
parent or parents a signed verification of receipt of the
21
information provided. Within 10 business days after placement,
22
the Department shall provide to the child's guardian ad litem
23
a copy of the information provided to the caregiver,
24
appropriate facility staff, or prospective adoptive parent or
25
parents. The information provided to the caregiver,
26
appropriate facility staff, or prospective adoptive parent or

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1
parents shall be reviewed and approved regarding accuracy at
2
the supervisory level.
3

(u-5) Beginning July 1, 2025, certified relative caregiver
4
homes under Section 3.4 of the Child Care Act of 1969 shall be
5
eligible to receive foster care maintenance payments from the
6
Department in an amount no less than payments made to licensed
7
foster family homes. Beginning July 1, 2025, relative homes
8
providing care to a child placed by the Department that are not
9
a certified relative caregiver home under Section 3.4 of the
10
Child Care Act of 1969 or a licensed foster family home shall
11
be eligible to receive payments from the Department in an
12
amount no less 90% of the payments made to licensed foster
13
family homes and certified relative caregiver homes.
14

(u-6) To assist relative and certified relative
15
caregivers, no later than July 1, 2025, the Department shall
16
adopt rules to implement a relative support program, as
17
follows:
18

(1) For relative and certified relative caregivers,
19

the Department is authorized to reimburse or prepay
20

reasonable expenditures to remedy home conditions
21

necessary to fulfill the home safety-related requirements
22

of relative caregiver homes.
23

(2) The Department may provide short-term emergency
24

funds to relative and certified relative caregiver homes
25

experiencing extreme hardships due to the difficulty and
26

stress associated with adding youth in care as new

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1

household members.
2

(3) Consistent with federal law, the Department shall
3

include in any State Plan made in accordance with the
4

Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980, Titles
5

IV-E and XIX of the Social Security Act, and any other
6

applicable federal laws the provision of kinship navigator
7

program services. The Department shall apply for and
8

administer all relevant federal aid in accordance with
9

law. Federal funds acquired for the kinship navigator
10

program shall be used for the development, implementation,
11

and operation of kinship navigator program services. The
12

kinship navigator program services may provide
13

information, referral services, support, and assistance to
14

relative and certified relative caregivers of youth in
15

care to address their unique needs and challenges. Until
16

the Department is approved to receive federal funds for
17

these purposes, the Department shall publicly post on the
18

Department's website semi-annual updates regarding the
19

Department's progress in pursuing federal funding.
20

Whenever the Department publicly posts these updates on
21

its website, the Department shall notify the General
22

Assembly through the General Assembly's designee.
23

(u-7) To support finding permanency for children through
24
subsidized guardianship and adoption and to prevent disruption
25
in guardianship and adoptive placements, the Department shall
26
establish and maintain accessible subsidized guardianship and

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1
adoption support services for all children under 18 years of
2
age placed in guardianship or adoption who, immediately
3
preceding the guardianship or adoption, were in the custody or
4
guardianship of the Department under Article II of the
5
Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
6

The Department shall establish and maintain a toll-free
7
number to respond to requests from the public about its
8
subsidized guardianship and adoption support services under
9
this subsection and shall staff the toll-free number so that
10
calls are answered on a timely basis, but in no event more than
11
one business day after the receipt of a request. These
12
requests from the public may be made anonymously. To meet this
13
obligation, the Department may utilize the same toll-free
14
number the Department operates to respond to post-adoption
15
requests under subsection (b-5) of Section 18.9 of the
16
Adoption Act. The Department shall publicize information about
17
the Department's subsidized guardianship support services and
18
toll-free number as follows:
19

(1) it shall post information on the Department's
20

website;
21

(2) it shall provide the information to every licensed
22

child welfare agency and any entity providing subsidized
23

guardianship support services in Illinois courts;
24

(3) it shall reference such information in the
25

materials the Department provides to caregivers pursuing
26

subsidized guardianship to inform them of their rights and

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1

responsibilities under the Child Care Act of 1969 and this
2

Act;
3

(4) it shall provide the information, including the
4

Department's Post Adoption and Guardianship Services
5

booklet, to eligible caregivers as part of its
6

guardianship training and at the time they are presented
7

with the Permanency Commitment form;
8

(5) it shall include, in each annual notification
9

letter mailed to subsidized guardians, a short, 2-sided
10

flier or news bulletin in plain language that describes
11

access to post-guardianship services, how to access
12

services under the Family Support Program, formerly known
13

as the Individual Care Grant Program, the webpage address
14

to the Post Adoption and Guardianship Services booklet,
15

information on how to request that a copy of the booklet be
16

mailed; and
17

(6) it shall ensure that kinship navigator programs of
18

this State, when established, have this information to
19

include in materials the programs provide to caregivers.
20

No later than July 1, 2026, the Department shall provide a
21
mechanism for the public to make information requests by
22
electronic means.
23

The Department shall review and update annually all
24
information relating to its subsidized guardianship support
25
services, including its Post Adoption and Guardianship
26
Services booklet, to include updated information on Family

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1
Support Program services eligibility and subsidized
2
guardianship support services that are available through the
3
medical assistance program established under Article V of the
4
Illinois Public Aid Code or any other State program for mental
5
health services. The Department and the Department of
6
Healthcare and Family Services shall coordinate their efforts
7
in the development of these resources.
8

Every licensed child welfare agency and any entity
9
providing kinship navigator programs funded by the Department
10
shall provide the Department's website address and link to the
11
Department's subsidized guardianship support services
12
information set forth in subsection (d), including the
13
Department's toll-free number, to every relative who is or
14
will be providing guardianship placement for a child placed by
15
the Department.
16

(v) The Department shall access criminal history record
17
information as defined in the Illinois Uniform Conviction
18
Information Act and information maintained in the adjudicatory
19
and dispositional record system as defined in Section 2605-355
20
of the Illinois State Police Law if the Department determines
21
the information is necessary to perform its duties under the
22
Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, the Child Care Act
23
of 1969, and the Children and Family Services Act. The
24
Department shall provide for interactive computerized
25
communication and processing equipment that permits direct
26
online

on-line
communication with the Illinois State Police's

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1
central criminal history data repository. The Department shall
2
comply with all certification requirements and provide
3
certified operators who have been trained by personnel from
4
the Illinois State Police. In addition, one Office of the
5
Inspector General investigator shall have training in the use
6
of the criminal history information access system and have
7
access to the terminal. The Department of Children and Family
8
Services and its employees shall abide by rules and
9
regulations established by the Illinois State Police relating
10
to the access and dissemination of this information.
11

(v-1) Prior to final approval for placement of a child
12
with a foster or adoptive parent, the Department shall conduct
13
a criminal records background check of the prospective foster
14
or adoptive parent, including fingerprint-based checks of
15
national crime information databases. Final approval for
16
placement shall not be granted if the record check reveals a
17
felony conviction for child abuse or neglect, for spousal
18
abuse, for a crime against children, or for a crime involving
19
violence, including human trafficking, sex trafficking, rape,
20
sexual assault, or homicide, but not including other physical
21
assault or battery, or if there is a felony conviction for
22
physical assault, battery, or a drug-related offense committed
23
within the past 5 years.
24

(v-2) Prior to final approval for placement of a child
25
with a foster or adoptive parent, the Department shall check
26
its child abuse and neglect registry for information

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1
concerning prospective foster and adoptive parents, and any
2
adult living in the home. If any prospective foster or
3
adoptive parent or other adult living in the home has resided
4
in another state in the preceding 5 years, the Department
5
shall request a check of that other state's child abuse and
6
neglect registry.
7

(v-3) Prior to the final approval of final placement of a
8
related child in a certified relative caregiver home as
9
defined in Section 2.37 of the Child Care Act of 1969, the
10
Department shall ensure that the background screening meets
11
the standards required under subsection (c) of Section 3.4 of
12
the Child Care Act of 1969.
13

(v-4) Prior to final approval for placement of a child
14
with a relative, as defined in Section 4d of this Act, who is
15
not a licensed foster parent, has declined to seek approval to
16
be a certified relative caregiver, or was denied approval as a
17
certified relative caregiver, the Department shall:
18

(i) check the child abuse and neglect registry for
19

information concerning the prospective relative caregiver
20

and any other adult living in the home. If any prospective
21

relative caregiver or other adult living in the home has
22

resided in another state in the preceding 5 years, the
23

Department shall request a check of that other state's
24

child abuse and neglect registry; and
25

(ii) conduct a criminal records background check of
26

the prospective relative caregiver and all other adults

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1

living in the home, including fingerprint-based checks of
2

national crime information databases. Final approval for
3

placement shall not be granted if the record check reveals
4

a felony conviction for child abuse or neglect, for
5

spousal abuse, for a crime against children, or for a
6

crime involving violence, including human trafficking, sex
7

trafficking, rape, sexual assault, or homicide, but not
8

including other physical assault or battery, or if there
9

is a felony conviction for physical assault, battery, or a
10

drug-related offense committed within the past 5 years;
11

provided however, that the Department is empowered to
12

grant a waiver as the Department may provide by rule, and
13

the Department approves the request for the waiver based
14

on a comprehensive evaluation of the caregiver and
15

household members and the conditions relating to the
16

safety of the placement.
17

No later than July 1, 2025, the Department shall adopt
18
rules or revise existing rules to effectuate the changes made
19
to this subsection (v-4). The rules shall outline the
20
essential elements of each form used in the implementation and
21
enforcement of the provisions of this amendatory Act of the
22
103rd General Assembly.
23

(w) (Blank).
24

(x) The Department shall conduct annual credit history
25
checks to determine the financial history of children placed
26
under its guardianship pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act of

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1987. The Department shall conduct such credit checks starting
2
when a youth in care turns 12 years old and each year
3
thereafter for the duration of the guardianship as terminated
4
pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. The Department
5
shall determine if financial exploitation of the child's
6
personal information has occurred. If financial exploitation
7
appears to have taken place or is presently ongoing, the
8
Department shall notify the proper law enforcement agency, the
9
proper State's Attorney, or the Attorney General.
10

(y) Beginning on July 22, 2010 (the effective date of
11
Public Act 96-1189), a child with a disability who receives
12
residential and educational services from the Department shall
13
be eligible to receive transition services in accordance with
14
Article 14 of the School Code from the age of 14.5 through age
15
21, inclusive, notwithstanding the child's residential
16
services arrangement. For purposes of this subsection, "child
17
with a disability" means a child with a disability as defined
18
by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education
19
Improvement Act of 2004.
20

(z) The Department shall access criminal history record
21
information as defined as "background information" in this
22
subsection and criminal history record information as defined
23
in the Illinois Uniform Conviction Information Act for each
24
Department employee or Department applicant. Each Department
25
employee or Department applicant shall submit the employee's
26
or applicant's fingerprints to the Illinois State Police in

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1
the form and manner prescribed by the Illinois State Police.
2
These fingerprints shall be checked against the fingerprint
3
records now and hereafter filed in the Illinois State Police
4
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history
5
records databases. The Illinois State Police shall charge a
6
fee for conducting the criminal history record check, which
7
shall be deposited into the State Police Services Fund and
8
shall not exceed the actual cost of the record check. The
9
Illinois State Police shall furnish, pursuant to positive
10
identification, all Illinois conviction information to the
11
Department of Children and Family Services.
12

For purposes of this subsection:
13

"Background information" means all of the following:
14

(i) Upon the request of the Department of Children and
15

Family Services, conviction information obtained from the
16

Illinois State Police as a result of a fingerprint-based
17

criminal history records check of the Illinois criminal
18

history records database and the Federal Bureau of
19

Investigation criminal history records database concerning
20

a Department employee or Department applicant.
21

(ii) Information obtained by the Department of
22

Children and Family Services after performing a check of
23

the Illinois State Police's Sex Offender Database, as
24

authorized by Section 120 of the Sex Offender Community
25

Notification Law, concerning a Department employee or
26

Department applicant.

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1

(iii) Information obtained by the Department of
2

Children and Family Services after performing a check of
3

the Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking System (CANTS)
4

operated and maintained by the Department.
5

"Department employee" means a full-time or temporary
6
employee coded or certified within the State of Illinois
7
Personnel System.
8

"Department applicant" means an individual who has
9
conditional Department full-time or part-time work, a
10
contractor, an individual used to replace or supplement staff,
11
an academic intern, a volunteer in Department offices or on
12
Department contracts, a work-study student, an individual or
13
entity licensed by the Department, or an unlicensed service
14
provider who works as a condition of a contract or an agreement
15
and whose work may bring the unlicensed service provider into
16
contact with Department clients or client records.
17

(aa) The changes made to this Section by
Public Act
18
104-165

this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly
are
19
declarative of existing law and are not a new enactment.
20
(Source: P.A. 103-22, eff. 8-8-23; 103-50, eff. 1-1-24;
21
103-546, eff. 8-11-23; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24; 103-1061, eff.
22
7-1-25; 104-165, eff. 8-15-25; revised 9-11-25.)

23

(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 104-107
)
24

Sec. 5.
Direct child welfare services; Department of
25
Children and Family Services.
To provide direct child welfare

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1
services when not available through other public or private
2
child care or program facilities.
3

(a) For purposes of this Section:
4

(1) "Children" means persons found within the State
5

who are under the age of 18 years. The term also includes
6

persons under age 21 who:
7

(A) were committed to the Department pursuant to
8

the Juvenile Court Act or the Juvenile Court Act of
9

1987 and who continue under the jurisdiction of the
10

court; or
11

(B) were accepted for care, service and training
12

by the Department prior to the age of 18 and whose best
13

interest in the discretion of the Department would be
14

served by continuing that care, service and training
15

because of severe emotional disturbances, physical
16

disability, social adjustment or any combination
17

thereof, or because of the need to complete an
18

educational or vocational training program.
19

(2) "Homeless youth" means persons found within the
20

State who are under the age of 19, are not in a safe and
21

stable living situation and cannot be reunited with their
22

families.
23

(3) "Child welfare services" means public social
24

services which are directed toward the accomplishment of
25

the following purposes:
26

(A) protecting and promoting the health, safety

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and welfare of children, including homeless,
2

dependent, or neglected children;
3

(B) remedying, or assisting in the solution of
4

problems which may result in, the neglect, abuse,
5

exploitation, or delinquency of children;
6

(C) preventing the unnecessary separation of
7

children from their families by identifying family
8

problems, assisting families in resolving their
9

problems, and preventing the breakup of the family
10

where the prevention of child removal is desirable and
11

possible when the child can be cared for at home
12

without endangering the child's health and safety;
13

(D) restoring to their families children who have
14

been removed, by the provision of services to the
15

child and the families when the child can be cared for
16

at home without endangering the child's health and
17

safety;
18

(E) placing children in suitable permanent family
19

arrangements, through guardianship or adoption, in
20

cases where restoration to the birth family is not
21

safe, possible, or appropriate;
22

(F) at the time of placement, conducting
23

concurrent planning, as described in subsection (l-1)
24

of this Section, so that permanency may occur at the
25

earliest opportunity. Consideration should be given so
26

that if reunification fails or is delayed, the

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placement made is the best available placement to
2

provide permanency for the child;
3

(F-1) preparing adolescents to successfully
4

transition to independence, including transition
5

planning for youth who qualify for a guardian as a
6

person with a disability under Article XIa of the
7

Probate Act of 1975;
8

(G) (blank);
9

(H) (blank); and
10

(I) placing and maintaining children in facilities
11

that provide separate living quarters for children
12

under the age of 18 and for children 18 years of age
13

and older, unless a child 18 years of age is in the
14

last year of high school education or vocational
15

training, in an approved individual or group treatment
16

program, in a licensed shelter facility, or secure
17

child care facility. The Department is not required to
18

place or maintain children:
19

(i) who are in a foster home, or
20

(ii) who are persons with a developmental
21

disability, as defined in the Mental Health and
22

Developmental Disabilities Code, or
23

(iii) who are female children who are
24

pregnant, pregnant and parenting, or parenting, or
25

(iv) who are siblings, in facilities that
26

provide separate living quarters for children 18

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1

years of age and older and for children under 18
2

years of age.
3

(b) (Blank).
4

(b-5) The Department shall adopt rules to establish a
5
process for all licensed residential providers in Illinois to
6
submit data as required by the Department if they contract or
7
receive reimbursement for children's mental health, substance
8
use, and developmental disability services from the Department
9
of Human Services, the Department of Juvenile Justice, or the
10
Department of Healthcare and Family Services. The requested
11
data must include, but is not limited to, capacity, staffing,
12
and occupancy data for the purpose of establishing State need
13
and placement availability.
14

All information collected, shared, or stored pursuant to
15
this subsection shall be handled in accordance with all State
16
and federal privacy laws and accompanying regulations and
17
rules, including
,
without limitation
,
the federal Health
18
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (Public
19
Law 104-191) and the Mental Health and Developmental
20
Disabilities Confidentiality Act.
21

(c) The Department shall establish and maintain
22
tax-supported child welfare services and extend and seek to
23
improve voluntary services throughout the State, to the end
24
that services and care shall be available on an equal basis
25
throughout the State to children requiring such services.
26

(d) The Director may authorize advance disbursements for

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1
any new program initiative to any agency contracting with the
2
Department. As a prerequisite for an advance disbursement, the
3
contractor must post a surety bond in the amount of the advance
4
disbursement and have a purchase of service contract approved
5
by the Department. The Department may pay up to 2 months
6
operational expenses in advance. The amount of the advance
7
disbursement shall be prorated over the life of the contract
8
or the remaining months of the fiscal year, whichever is less,
9
and the installment amount shall then be deducted from future
10
bills. Advance disbursement authorizations for new initiatives
11
shall not be made to any agency after that agency has operated
12
during 2 consecutive fiscal years. The requirements of this
13
Section concerning advance disbursements shall not apply with
14
respect to the following: payments to local public agencies
15
for child day care services as authorized by Section 5a of this
16
Act; and youth service programs receiving grant funds under
17
Section 17a-4.
18

(e) (Blank).
19

(f) (Blank).
20

(g) The Department shall establish rules and regulations
21
concerning its operation of programs designed to meet the
22
goals of child safety and protection, family preservation, and
23
permanency, including, but not limited to:
24

(1) reunification, guardianship, and adoption;
25

(2) relative and licensed foster care;
26

(3) family counseling;

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1

(4) protective services;
2

(5) (blank);
3

(6) homemaker service;
4

(7) return of runaway children;
5

(8) (blank);
6

(9) placement under Section 5-7 of the Juvenile Court
7

Act or Section 2-27, 3-28, 4-25, or 5-740 of the Juvenile
8

Court Act of 1987 in accordance with the federal Adoption
9

Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980;
10

(10) interstate services; and
11

(11) transition planning for youth aging out of care.
12

Rules and regulations established by the Department shall
13
include provisions for training Department staff and the staff
14
of Department grantees, through contracts with other agencies
15
or resources, in screening techniques to identify substance
16
use disorders, as defined in the Substance Use Disorder Act,
17
approved by the Department of Human Services, as a successor
18
to the Department of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, for the
19
purpose of identifying children and adults who should be
20
referred for an assessment at an organization appropriately
21
licensed by the Department of Human Services for substance use
22
disorder treatment.
23

(h) If the Department finds that there is no appropriate
24
program or facility within or available to the Department for
25
a youth in care and that no licensed private facility has an
26
adequate and appropriate program or none agrees to accept the

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1
youth in care, the Department shall create an appropriate
2
individualized, program-oriented plan for such youth in care.
3
The plan may be developed within the Department or through
4
purchase of services by the Department to the extent that it is
5
within its statutory authority to do.
6

(i) Service programs shall be available throughout the
7
State and shall include but not be limited to the following
8
services:
9

(1) case management;
10

(2) homemakers;
11

(3) counseling;
12

(4) parent education;
13

(5) day care;
14

(6) emergency assistance and advocacy; and
15

(7) kinship navigator and relative caregiver supports.
16

In addition, the following services may be made available
17
to assess and meet the needs of children and families:
18

(1) comprehensive family-based services;
19

(2) assessments;
20

(3) respite care; and
21

(4) in-home health services.
22

The Department shall provide transportation for any of the
23
services it makes available to children or families or for
24
which it refers children or families.
25

(j) The Department may provide categories of financial
26
assistance and education assistance grants, and shall

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1
establish rules and regulations concerning the assistance and
2
grants, to persons who adopt or become subsidized guardians of
3
children with physical or mental disabilities, children who
4
are older, or other hard-to-place children who (i) immediately
5
prior to their adoption or subsidized guardianship were youth
6
in care or (ii) were determined eligible for financial
7
assistance with respect to a prior adoption and who become
8
available for adoption because the prior adoption has been
9
dissolved and the parental rights of the adoptive parents have
10
been terminated or because the child's adoptive parents have
11
died. The Department may continue to provide financial
12
assistance and education assistance grants for a child who was
13
determined eligible for financial assistance under this
14
subsection (j) in the interim period beginning when the
15
child's adoptive parents died and ending with the finalization
16
of the new adoption of the child by another adoptive parent or
17
parents. The Department may also provide categories of
18
financial assistance and education assistance grants, and
19
shall establish rules and regulations for the assistance and
20
grants, to persons appointed guardian of the person under
21
Section 5-7 of the Juvenile Court Act or Section 2-27, 3-28,
22
4-25, or 5-740 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 for children
23
who were youth in care for 12 months immediately prior to the
24
appointment of the guardian.
25

The amount of assistance may vary, depending upon the
26
needs of the child and the adoptive parents or subsidized

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1
guardians, as set forth in the annual assistance agreement.
2
Special purpose grants are allowed where the child requires
3
special service but such costs may not exceed the amounts
4
which similar services would cost the Department if it were to
5
provide or secure them as guardian of the child.
6

Any financial assistance provided under this subsection is
7
inalienable by assignment, sale, execution, attachment,
8
garnishment, or any other remedy for recovery or collection of
9
a judgment or debt.
10

(j-5) The Department shall not deny or delay the placement
11
of a child for adoption if an approved family is available
12
either outside of the Department region handling the case, or
13
outside of the State of Illinois.
14

(k) The Department shall accept for care and training any
15
child who has been adjudicated neglected or abused, or
16
dependent committed to it pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act
17
or the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
18

(l) The Department shall offer family preservation
19
services, as defined in Section 8.2 of the Abused and
20
Neglected Child Reporting Act, to help families, including
21
adoptive and extended families. Family preservation services
22
shall be offered (i) to prevent the placement of children in
23
substitute care when the children can be cared for at home or
24
in the custody of the person responsible for the children's
25
welfare, (ii) to reunite children with their families, or
26
(iii) to maintain an adoption or subsidized guardianship.

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1
Family preservation services shall only be offered when doing
2
so will not endanger the children's health or safety. With
3
respect to children who are in substitute care pursuant to the
4
Juvenile Court Act of 1987, family preservation services shall
5
not be offered if a goal other than those of subdivisions (A),
6
(B), or (B-1) of subsection (2.3) of Section 2-28 of that Act
7
has been set, except that reunification services may be
8
offered as provided in paragraph (F) of subsection (2.3) of
9
Section 2-28 of that Act. Nothing in this paragraph shall be
10
construed to create a private right of action or claim on the
11
part of any individual or child welfare agency, except that
12
when a child is the subject of an action under Article II of
13
the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 and the child's service plan
14
calls for services to facilitate achievement of the permanency
15
goal, the court hearing the action under Article II of the
16
Juvenile Court Act of 1987 may order the Department to provide
17
the services set out in the plan, if those services are not
18
provided with reasonable promptness and if those services are
19
available.
20

The Department shall notify the child and the child's
21
family of the Department's responsibility to offer and provide
22
family preservation services as identified in the service
23
plan. The child and the child's family shall be eligible for
24
services as soon as the report is determined to be
25
"indicated". The Department may offer services to any child or
26
family with respect to whom a report of suspected child abuse

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1
or neglect has been filed, prior to concluding its
2
investigation under Section 7.12 of the Abused and Neglected
3
Child Reporting Act. However, the child's or family's
4
willingness to accept services shall not be considered in the
5
investigation. The Department may also provide services to any
6
child or family who is the subject of any report of suspected
7
child abuse or neglect or may refer such child or family to
8
services available from other agencies in the community, even
9
if the report is determined to be unfounded, if the conditions
10
in the child's or family's home are reasonably likely to
11
subject the child or family to future reports of suspected
12
child abuse or neglect. Acceptance of such services shall be
13
voluntary. The Department may also provide services to any
14
child or family after completion of a family assessment, as an
15
alternative to an investigation, as provided under the
16
"differential response program" provided for in subsection
17
(a-5) of Section 7.4 of the Abused and Neglected Child
18
Reporting Act.
19

The Department may, at its discretion except for those
20
children also adjudicated neglected or dependent, accept for
21
care and training any child who has been adjudicated addicted,
22
as a truant minor in need of supervision or as a minor
23
requiring authoritative intervention, under the Juvenile Court
24
Act or the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, but no such child shall
25
be committed to the Department by any court without the
26
approval of the Department. On and after January 1, 2015 (the

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1
effective date of Public Act 98-803) and before January 1,
2
2017, a minor charged with a criminal offense under the
3
Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or
4
adjudicated delinquent shall not be placed in the custody of
5
or committed to the Department by any court, except (i) a minor
6
less than 16 years of age committed to the Department under
7
Section 5-710 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, (ii) a minor
8
for whom an independent basis of abuse, neglect, or dependency
9
exists, which must be defined by departmental rule, or (iii) a
10
minor for whom the court has granted a supplemental petition
11
to reinstate wardship pursuant to subsection (2) of Section
12
2-33 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. On and after January 1,
13
2017, a minor charged with a criminal offense under the
14
Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or
15
adjudicated delinquent shall not be placed in the custody of
16
or committed to the Department by any court, except (i) a minor
17
less than 15 years of age committed to the Department under
18
Section 5-710 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, (ii) a minor
19
for whom an independent basis of abuse, neglect, or dependency
20
exists, which must be defined by departmental rule, or (iii) a
21
minor for whom the court has granted a supplemental petition
22
to reinstate wardship pursuant to subsection (2) of Section
23
2-33 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. An independent basis
24
exists when the allegations or adjudication of abuse, neglect,
25
or dependency do not arise from the same facts, incident, or
26
circumstances which give rise to a charge or adjudication of

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1
delinquency. The Department shall assign a caseworker to
2
attend any hearing involving a youth in the care and custody of
3
the Department who is placed on aftercare release, including
4
hearings involving sanctions for violation of aftercare
5
release conditions and aftercare release revocation hearings.
6

As soon as is possible, the Department shall develop and
7
implement a special program of family preservation services to
8
support intact, relative, foster, and adoptive families who
9
are experiencing extreme hardships due to the difficulty and
10
stress of caring for a child who has been diagnosed with a
11
pervasive developmental disorder if the Department determines
12
that those services are necessary to ensure the health and
13
safety of the child. The Department may offer services to any
14
family whether or not a report has been filed under the Abused
15
and Neglected Child Reporting Act. The Department may refer
16
the child or family to services available from other agencies
17
in the community if the conditions in the child's or family's
18
home are reasonably likely to subject the child or family to
19
future reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. Acceptance
20
of these services shall be voluntary. The Department shall
21
develop and implement a public information campaign to alert
22
health and social service providers and the general public
23
about these special family preservation services. The nature
24
and scope of the services offered and the number of families
25
served under the special program implemented under this
26
paragraph shall be determined by the level of funding that the

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1
Department annually allocates for this purpose. The term
2
"pervasive developmental disorder" under this paragraph means
3
a neurological condition, including, but not limited to,
4
Asperger's Syndrome and autism, as defined in the most recent
5
edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
6
Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association.
7

(l-1) The General Assembly recognizes that the best
8
interests of the child require that the child be placed in the
9
most permanent living arrangement that is an appropriate
10
option for the child, consistent with the child's best
11
interest, using the factors set forth in subsection (4.05) of
12
Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 as soon as is
13
practically possible. To achieve this goal, the General
14
Assembly directs the Department of Children and Family
15
Services to conduct concurrent planning so that permanency may
16
occur at the earliest opportunity. Permanent living
17
arrangements may include prevention of placement of a child
18
outside the home of the family when the child can be cared for
19
at home without endangering the child's health or safety;
20
reunification with the family, when safe and appropriate, if
21
temporary placement is necessary; or movement of the child
22
toward the most appropriate living arrangement and legal
23
status.
24

When determining reasonable efforts to be made with
25
respect to a child, as described in this subsection, and in
26
making such reasonable efforts, the child's health and safety

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1
shall be the paramount concern.
2

When a child is placed in foster care, the Department
3
shall ensure and document that reasonable efforts were made to
4
prevent or eliminate the need to remove the child from the
5
child's home. The Department must make reasonable efforts to
6
reunify the family when temporary placement of the child
7
occurs unless otherwise required, pursuant to the Juvenile
8
Court Act of 1987. At any time after the dispositional hearing
9
where the Department believes that further reunification
10
services would be ineffective, it may request a finding from
11
the court that reasonable efforts are no longer appropriate.
12
The Department is not required to provide further
13
reunification services after such a finding.
14

A decision to place a child in substitute care shall be
15
made with considerations of the child's health, safety, and
16
best interests. The Department shall make diligent efforts to
17
place the child with a relative, document those diligent
18
efforts, and document reasons for any failure or inability to
19
secure such a relative placement. If the primary issue
20
preventing an emergency placement of a child with a relative
21
is a lack of resources, including, but not limited to,
22
concrete goods, safety modifications, and services, the
23
Department shall make diligent efforts to assist the relative
24
in obtaining the necessary resources. No later than July 1,
25
2025, the Department shall adopt rules defining what is
26
diligent and necessary in providing supports to potential

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1
relative placements. At the time of placement, consideration
2
should also be given so that if reunification fails or is
3
delayed, the placement has the potential to be an appropriate
4
permanent placement for the child.
5

The Department shall adopt rules addressing concurrent
6
planning for reunification and permanency. The Department
7
shall consider the following factors when determining
8
appropriateness of concurrent planning:
9

(1) the likelihood of prompt reunification;
10

(2) the past history of the family;
11

(3) the barriers to reunification being addressed by
12

the family;
13

(4) the level of cooperation of the family;
14

(4.5) the child's wishes;
15

(5) the caregivers' willingness to work with the
16

family to reunite;
17

(6) the willingness and ability of the caregivers' to
18

provide a permanent placement;
19

(7) the age of the child;
20

(8) placement of siblings; and
21

(9) the wishes of the parent or parents unless the
22

parental preferences are contrary to the best interests of
23

the child.
24

(m) The Department may assume temporary custody of any
25
child if:
26

(1) it has received a written consent to such

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temporary custody signed by the parents of the child or by
2

the parent having custody of the child if the parents are
3

not living together or by the guardian or custodian of the
4

child if the child is not in the custody of either parent,
5

or
6

(2) the child is found in the State and neither a
7

parent, guardian nor custodian of the child can be
8

located.
9
If the child is found in the child's residence without a
10
parent, guardian, custodian, or responsible caretaker, the
11
Department may, instead of removing the child and assuming
12
temporary custody, place an authorized representative of the
13
Department in that residence until such time as a parent,
14
guardian, or custodian enters the home and expresses a
15
willingness and apparent ability to ensure the child's health
16
and safety and resume permanent charge of the child, or until a
17
relative enters the home and is willing and able to ensure the
18
child's health and safety and assume charge of the child until
19
a parent, guardian, or custodian enters the home and expresses
20
such willingness and ability to ensure the child's safety and
21
resume permanent charge. After a caretaker has remained in the
22
home for a period not to exceed 12 hours, the Department must
23
follow those procedures outlined in Section 2-9, 3-11, 4-8, or
24
5-415 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
25

The Department shall have the authority, responsibilities
26
and duties that a legal custodian of the child would have

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pursuant to subsection (9) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile
2
Court Act of 1987. Whenever a child is taken into temporary
3
custody pursuant to an investigation under the Abused and
4
Neglected Child Reporting Act, or pursuant to a referral and
5
acceptance under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 of a minor in
6
limited custody, the Department, during the period of
7
temporary custody and before the child is brought before a
8
judicial officer as required by Section 2-9, 3-11, 4-8, or
9
5-415 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, shall have the
10
authority, responsibilities and duties that a legal custodian
11
of the child would have under subsection (9) of Section 1-3 of
12
the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
13

The Department shall ensure that any child taken into
14
custody is scheduled for an appointment for a medical
15
examination.
16

A parent, guardian, or custodian of a child in the
17
temporary custody of the Department who would have custody of
18
the child if the child were not in the temporary custody of the
19
Department may deliver to the Department a signed request that
20
the Department surrender the temporary custody of the child.
21
The Department may retain temporary custody of the child for
22
10 days after the receipt of the request, during which period
23
the Department may cause to be filed a petition pursuant to the
24
Juvenile Court Act of 1987. If a petition is so filed, the
25
Department shall retain temporary custody of the child until
26
the court orders otherwise. If a petition is not filed within

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the 10-day period, the child shall be surrendered to the
2
custody of the requesting parent, guardian, or custodian not
3
later than the expiration of the 10-day period, at which time
4
the authority and duties of the Department with respect to the
5
temporary custody of the child shall terminate.
6

(m-1) The Department may place children under 18 years of
7
age in a secure child care facility licensed by the Department
8
that cares for children who are in need of secure living
9
arrangements for their health, safety, and well-being after a
10
determination is made by the facility director and the
11
Director or the Director's designate prior to admission to the
12
facility subject to Section 2-27.1 of the Juvenile Court Act
13
of 1987. This subsection (m-1) does not apply to a child who is
14
subject to placement in a correctional facility operated
15
pursuant to Section 3-15-2 of the Unified Code of Corrections,
16
unless the child is a youth in care who was placed in the care
17
of the Department before being subject to placement in a
18
correctional facility and a court of competent jurisdiction
19
has ordered placement of the child in a secure care facility.
20

(n) The Department may place children under 18 years of
21
age in licensed child care facilities when in the opinion of
22
the Department, appropriate services aimed at family
23
preservation have been unsuccessful and cannot ensure the
24
child's health and safety or are unavailable and such
25
placement would be for their best interest. Payment for board,
26
clothing, care, training and supervision of any child placed

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in a licensed child care facility may be made by the
2
Department, by the parents or guardians of the estates of
3
those children, or by both the Department and the parents or
4
guardians, except that no payments shall be made by the
5
Department for any child placed in a licensed child care
6
facility for board, clothing, care, training, and supervision
7
of such a child that exceed the average per capita cost of
8
maintaining and of caring for a child in institutions for
9
dependent or neglected children operated by the Department.
10
However, such restriction on payments does not apply in cases
11
where children require specialized care and treatment for
12
problems of severe emotional disturbance, physical disability,
13
social adjustment, or any combination thereof and suitable
14
facilities for the placement of such children are not
15
available at payment rates within the limitations set forth in
16
this Section. All reimbursements for services delivered shall
17
be absolutely inalienable by assignment, sale, attachment, or
18
garnishment or otherwise.
19

(n-1) The Department shall provide or authorize child
20
welfare services, aimed at assisting minors to achieve
21
sustainable self-sufficiency as independent adults, for any
22
minor eligible for the reinstatement of wardship pursuant to
23
subsection (2) of Section 2-33 of the Juvenile Court Act of
24
1987, whether or not such reinstatement is sought or allowed,
25
provided that the minor consents to such services and has not
26
yet attained the age of 21. The Department shall have

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responsibility for the development and delivery of services
2
under this Section. An eligible youth may access services
3
under this Section through the Department of Children and
4
Family Services or by referral from the Department of Human
5
Services. Youth participating in services under this Section
6
shall cooperate with the assigned case manager in developing
7
an agreement identifying the services to be provided and how
8
the youth will increase skills to achieve self-sufficiency. A
9
homeless shelter is not considered appropriate housing for any
10
youth receiving child welfare services under this Section. The
11
Department shall continue child welfare services under this
12
Section to any eligible minor until the minor becomes 21 years
13
of age, no longer consents to participate, or achieves
14
self-sufficiency as identified in the minor's service plan.
15
The Department of Children and Family Services shall create
16
clear, readable notice of the rights of former foster youth to
17
child welfare services under this Section and how such
18
services may be obtained. The Department of Children and
19
Family Services and the Department of Human Services shall
20
disseminate this information statewide. The Department shall
21
adopt regulations describing services intended to assist
22
minors in achieving sustainable self-sufficiency as
23
independent adults.
24

(o) The Department shall establish an administrative
25
review and appeal process for children and families who
26
request or receive child welfare services from the Department.

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1
Youth in care who are placed by private child welfare
2
agencies, and caregivers with whom those youth are placed,
3
shall be afforded the same procedural and appeal rights as
4
children and families in the case of placement by the
5
Department, including the right to an initial review of a
6
private agency decision by that agency. The Department shall
7
ensure that any private child welfare agency, which accepts
8
youth in care for placement, affords those rights to children
9
and caregivers with whom those children are placed. The
10
Department shall accept for administrative review and an
11
appeal hearing a complaint made by (i) a child or caregiver
12
with whom the child is placed concerning a decision following
13
an initial review by a private child welfare agency or (ii) a
14
prospective adoptive parent who alleges a violation of
15
subsection (j-5) of this Section. An appeal of a decision
16
concerning a change in the placement of a child shall be
17
conducted in an expedited manner. A court determination that a
18
current placement is necessary and appropriate under Section
19
2-28 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 does not constitute a
20
judicial determination on the merits of an administrative
21
appeal, filed by a former caregiver, involving a change of
22
placement decision. No later than July 1, 2025, the Department
23
shall adopt rules to develop a reconsideration process to
24
review: a denial of certification of a relative, a denial of
25
placement with a relative, and a denial of visitation with an
26
identified relative. Rules shall include standards and

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1
criteria for reconsideration that incorporate the best
2
interests of the child under subsection (4.05) of Section 1-3
3
of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, address situations where
4
multiple relatives seek certification, and provide that all
5
rules regarding placement changes shall be followed. The rules
6
shall outline the essential elements of each form used in the
7
implementation and enforcement of the provisions of this
8
amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly.
9

(p) (Blank).
10

(q) The Department may receive and use, in their entirety,
11
for the benefit of children any gift, donation, or bequest of
12
money or other property which is received on behalf of such
13
children, or any financial benefits to which such children are
14
or may become entitled while under the jurisdiction or care of
15
the Department, except that the benefits described in Section
16
5.46 must be used and conserved consistent with the provisions
17
under Section 5.46.
18

The Department shall set up and administer no-cost,
19
interest-bearing accounts in appropriate financial
20
institutions for children for whom the Department is legally
21
responsible and who have been determined eligible for
22
Veterans' Benefits, Social Security benefits, assistance
23
allotments from the armed forces, court ordered payments,
24
parental voluntary payments, Supplemental Security Income,
25
Railroad Retirement payments, Black Lung benefits, or other
26
miscellaneous payments. Interest earned by each account shall

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1
be credited to the account, unless disbursed in accordance
2
with this subsection.
3

In disbursing funds from children's accounts, the
4
Department shall:
5

(1) Establish standards in accordance with State and
6

federal laws for disbursing money from children's
7

accounts. In all circumstances, the Department's
8

Guardianship Administrator or the Guardianship
9

Administrator's designee must approve disbursements from
10

children's accounts. The Department shall be responsible
11

for keeping complete records of all disbursements for each
12

account for any purpose.
13

(2) Calculate on a monthly basis the amounts paid from
14

State funds for the child's board and care, medical care
15

not covered under Medicaid, and social services; and
16

utilize funds from the child's account, as covered by
17

regulation, to reimburse those costs. Monthly,
18

disbursements from all children's accounts, up to 1/12 of
19

$13,000,000, shall be deposited by the Department into the
20

General Revenue Fund and the balance over 1/12 of
21

$13,000,000 into the DCFS Children's Services Fund.
22

(3) Maintain any balance remaining after reimbursing
23

for the child's costs of care, as specified in item (2).
24

The balance shall accumulate in accordance with relevant
25

State and federal laws and shall be disbursed to the child
26

or the child's guardian or to the issuing agency.

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1

(r) The Department shall promulgate regulations
2
encouraging all adoption agencies to voluntarily forward to
3
the Department or its agent names and addresses of all persons
4
who have applied for and have been approved for adoption of a
5
hard-to-place child or child with a disability and the names
6
of such children who have not been placed for adoption. A list
7
of such names and addresses shall be maintained by the
8
Department or its agent, and coded lists which maintain the
9
confidentiality of the person seeking to adopt the child and
10
of the child shall be made available, without charge, to every
11
adoption agency in the State to assist the agencies in placing
12
such children for adoption. The Department may delegate to an
13
agent its duty to maintain and make available such lists. The
14
Department shall ensure that such agent maintains the
15
confidentiality of the person seeking to adopt the child and
16
of the child.
17

(s) The Department of Children and Family Services may
18
establish and implement a program to reimburse caregivers
19
licensed, certified, or otherwise approved by the Department
20
of Children and Family Services for damages sustained by the
21
caregivers as a result of the malicious or negligent acts of
22
children placed by the Department, as well as providing third
23
party coverage for such caregivers with regard to actions of
24
children placed by the Department to other individuals. Such
25
coverage will be secondary to the caregiver's liability
26
insurance policy, if applicable. The program shall be funded

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1
through appropriations from the General Revenue Fund,
2
specifically designated for such purposes.
3

(t) The Department shall perform home studies and
4
investigations and shall exercise supervision over visitation
5
as ordered by a court pursuant to the Illinois Marriage and
6
Dissolution of Marriage Act or the Adoption Act only if:
7

(1) an order entered by an Illinois court specifically
8

directs the Department to perform such services; and
9

(2) the court has ordered one or both of the parties to
10

the proceeding to reimburse the Department for its
11

reasonable costs for providing such services in accordance
12

with Department rules, or has determined that neither
13

party is financially able to pay.
14

The Department shall provide written notification to the
15
court of the specific arrangements for supervised visitation
16
and projected monthly costs within 60 days of the court order.
17
The Department shall send to the court information related to
18
the costs incurred except in cases where the court has
19
determined the parties are financially unable to pay. The
20
court may order additional periodic reports as appropriate.
21

(u) In addition to other information that must be
22
provided, whenever the Department places a child with a
23
prospective adoptive parent or parents, in a licensed foster
24
home, group home, or child care institution, in a relative
25
home, or in a certified relative caregiver home, the
26
Department shall provide to the caregiver, appropriate

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1
facility staff, or prospective adoptive parent or parents:
2

(1) available detailed information concerning the
3

child's educational and health history, copies of
4

immunization records (including insurance and medical card
5

information), a history of the child's previous
6

placements, if any, and reasons for placement changes
7

excluding any information that identifies or reveals the
8

location of any previous caregiver or adoptive parents;
9

(2) a copy of the child's portion of the client
10

service plan, including any visitation arrangement, and
11

all amendments or revisions to it as related to the child;
12

and
13

(3) information containing details of the child's
14

individualized
education program

educational plan
when the
15

child is receiving special education services.
16

The caregiver, appropriate facility staff, or prospective
17
adoptive parent or parents, shall be informed of any known
18
social or behavioral information (including, but not limited
19
to, criminal background, fire setting, perpetuation of sexual
20
abuse, destructive behavior, and substance abuse) necessary to
21
care for and safeguard the children to be placed or currently
22
in the home or setting. The Department may prepare a written
23
summary of the information required by this paragraph, which
24
may be provided to the caregiver, appropriate facility staff,
25
or prospective adoptive parent in advance of a placement. The
26
caregiver, appropriate facility staff, or prospective adoptive

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1
parent may review the supporting documents in the child's file
2
in the presence of casework staff. In the case of an emergency
3
placement, casework staff shall at least provide known
4
information verbally, if necessary, and must subsequently
5
provide the information in writing as required by this
6
subsection.
7

The information described in this subsection shall be
8
provided in writing. In the case of emergency placements when
9
time does not allow prior review, preparation, and collection
10
of written information, the Department shall provide such
11
information as it becomes available. Within 10 business days
12
after placement, the Department shall obtain from the
13
caregiver, appropriate facility staff, or prospective adoptive
14
parent or parents a signed verification of receipt of the
15
information provided. Within 10 business days after placement,
16
the Department shall provide to the child's guardian ad litem
17
a copy of the information provided to the caregiver,
18
appropriate facility staff, or prospective adoptive parent or
19
parents. The information provided to the caregiver,
20
appropriate facility staff, or prospective adoptive parent or
21
parents shall be reviewed and approved regarding accuracy at
22
the supervisory level.
23

(u-5) Beginning July 1, 2025, certified relative caregiver
24
homes under Section 3.4 of the Child Care Act of 1969 shall be
25
eligible to receive foster care maintenance payments from the
26
Department in an amount no less than payments made to licensed

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1
foster family homes. Beginning July 1, 2025, relative homes
2
providing care to a child placed by the Department that are not
3
a certified relative caregiver home under Section 3.4 of the
4
Child Care Act of 1969 or a licensed foster family home shall
5
be eligible to receive payments from the Department in an
6
amount no less 90% of the payments made to licensed foster
7
family homes and certified relative caregiver homes.
8

(u-6) To assist relative and certified relative
9
caregivers, no later than July 1, 2025, the Department shall
10
adopt rules to implement a relative support program, as
11
follows:
12

(1) For relative and certified relative caregivers,
13

the Department is authorized to reimburse or prepay
14

reasonable expenditures to remedy home conditions
15

necessary to fulfill the home safety-related requirements
16

of relative caregiver homes.
17

(2) The Department may provide short-term emergency
18

funds to relative and certified relative caregiver homes
19

experiencing extreme hardships due to the difficulty and
20

stress associated with adding youth in care as new
21

household members.
22

(3) Consistent with federal law, the Department shall
23

include in any State Plan made in accordance with the
24

Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980, Titles
25

IV-E and XIX of the Social Security Act, and any other
26

applicable federal laws the provision of kinship navigator

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1

program services. The Department shall apply for and
2

administer all relevant federal aid in accordance with
3

law. Federal funds acquired for the kinship navigator
4

program shall be used for the development, implementation,
5

and operation of kinship navigator program services. The
6

kinship navigator program services may provide
7

information, referral services, support, and assistance to
8

relative and certified relative caregivers of youth in
9

care to address their unique needs and challenges. Until
10

the Department is approved to receive federal funds for
11

these purposes, the Department shall publicly post on the
12

Department's website semi-annual updates regarding the
13

Department's progress in pursuing federal funding.
14

Whenever the Department publicly posts these updates on
15

its website, the Department shall notify the General
16

Assembly through the General Assembly's designee.
17

(u-7) To support finding permanency for children through
18
subsidized guardianship and adoption and to prevent disruption
19
in guardianship and adoptive placements, the Department shall
20
establish and maintain accessible subsidized guardianship and
21
adoption support services for all children under 18 years of
22
age placed in guardianship or adoption who, immediately
23
preceding the guardianship or adoption, were in the custody or
24
guardianship of the Department under Article II of the
25
Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
26

The Department shall establish and maintain a toll-free

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1
number to respond to requests from the public about its
2
subsidized guardianship and adoption support services under
3
this subsection and shall staff the toll-free number so that
4
calls are answered on a timely basis, but in no event more than
5
one business day after the receipt of a request. These
6
requests from the public may be made anonymously. To meet this
7
obligation, the Department may utilize the same toll-free
8
number the Department operates to respond to post-adoption
9
requests under subsection (b-5) of Section 18.9 of the
10
Adoption Act. The Department shall publicize information about
11
the Department's subsidized guardianship support services and
12
toll-free number as follows:
13

(1) it shall post information on the Department's
14

website;
15

(2) it shall provide the information to every licensed
16

child welfare agency and any entity providing subsidized
17

guardianship support services in Illinois courts;
18

(3) it shall reference such information in the
19

materials the Department provides to caregivers pursuing
20

subsidized guardianship to inform them of their rights and
21

responsibilities under the Child Care Act of 1969 and this
22

Act;
23

(4) it shall provide the information, including the
24

Department's Post Adoption and Guardianship Services
25

booklet, to eligible caregivers as part of its
26

guardianship training and at the time they are presented

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with the Permanency Commitment form;
2

(5) it shall include, in each annual notification
3

letter mailed to subsidized guardians, a short, 2-sided
4

flier or news bulletin in plain language that describes
5

access to post-guardianship services, how to access
6

services under the Family Support Program, formerly known
7

as the Individual Care Grant Program, the webpage address
8

to the Post Adoption and Guardianship Services booklet,
9

information on how to request that a copy of the booklet be
10

mailed; and
11

(6) it shall ensure that kinship navigator programs of
12

this State, when established, have this information to
13

include in materials the programs provide to caregivers.
14

No later than July 1, 2026, the Department shall provide a
15
mechanism for the public to make information requests by
16
electronic means.
17

The Department shall review and update annually all
18
information relating to its subsidized guardianship support
19
services, including its Post Adoption and Guardianship
20
Services booklet, to include updated information on Family
21
Support Program services eligibility and subsidized
22
guardianship support services that are available through the
23
medical assistance program established under Article V of the
24
Illinois Public Aid Code or any other State program for mental
25
health services. The Department and the Department of
26
Healthcare and Family Services shall coordinate their efforts

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1
in the development of these resources.
2

Every licensed child welfare agency and any entity
3
providing kinship navigator programs funded by the Department
4
shall provide the Department's website address and link to the
5
Department's subsidized guardianship support services
6
information set forth in subsection (d), including the
7
Department's toll-free number, to every relative who is or
8
will be providing guardianship placement for a child placed by
9
the Department.
10

(v) The Department shall access criminal history record
11
information as defined in the Illinois Uniform Conviction
12
Information Act and information maintained in the adjudicatory
13
and dispositional record system as defined in Section 2605-355
14
of the Illinois State Police Law if the Department determines
15
the information is necessary to perform its duties under the
16
Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, the Child Care Act
17
of 1969, and the Children and Family Services Act. The
18
Department shall provide for interactive computerized
19
communication and processing equipment that permits direct
20
online

on-line
communication with the Illinois State Police's
21
central criminal history data repository. The Department shall
22
comply with all certification requirements and provide
23
certified operators who have been trained by personnel from
24
the Illinois State Police. In addition, one Office of the
25
Inspector General investigator shall have training in the use
26
of the criminal history information access system and have

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1
access to the terminal. The Department of Children and Family
2
Services and its employees shall abide by rules and
3
regulations established by the Illinois State Police relating
4
to the access and dissemination of this information.
5

(v-1) Prior to final approval for placement of a child
6
with a foster or adoptive parent, the Department shall conduct
7
a criminal records background check of the prospective foster
8
or adoptive parent, including fingerprint-based checks of
9
national crime information databases. Final approval for
10
placement shall not be granted if the record check reveals a
11
felony conviction for child abuse or neglect, for spousal
12
abuse, for a crime against children, or for a crime involving
13
violence, including human trafficking, sex trafficking, rape,
14
sexual assault, or homicide, but not including other physical
15
assault or battery, or if there is a felony conviction for
16
physical assault, battery, or a drug-related offense committed
17
within the past 5 years.
18

(v-2) Prior to final approval for placement of a child
19
with a foster or adoptive parent, the Department shall check
20
its child abuse and neglect registry for information
21
concerning prospective foster and adoptive parents, and any
22
adult living in the home. If any prospective foster or
23
adoptive parent or other adult living in the home has resided
24
in another state in the preceding 5 years, the Department
25
shall request a check of that other state's child abuse and
26
neglect registry.

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1

(v-3) Prior to the final approval of final placement of a
2
related child in a certified relative caregiver home as
3
defined in Section 2.37 of the Child Care Act of 1969, the
4
Department shall ensure that the background screening meets
5
the standards required under subsection (c) of Section 3.4 of
6
the Child Care Act of 1969.
7

(v-4) Prior to final approval for placement of a child
8
with a relative, as defined in Section 4d of this Act, who is
9
not a licensed foster parent, has declined to seek approval to
10
be a certified relative caregiver, or was denied approval as a
11
certified relative caregiver, the Department shall:
12

(i) check the child abuse and neglect registry for
13

information concerning the prospective relative caregiver
14

and any other adult living in the home. If any prospective
15

relative caregiver or other adult living in the home has
16

resided in another state in the preceding 5 years, the
17

Department shall request a check of that other state's
18

child abuse and neglect registry; and
19

(ii) conduct a criminal records background check of
20

the prospective relative caregiver and all other adults
21

living in the home, including fingerprint-based checks of
22

national crime information databases. Final approval for
23

placement shall not be granted if the record check reveals
24

a felony conviction for child abuse or neglect, for
25

spousal abuse, for a crime against children, or for a
26

crime involving violence, including human trafficking, sex

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1

trafficking, rape, sexual assault, or homicide, but not
2

including other physical assault or battery, or if there
3

is a felony conviction for physical assault, battery, or a
4

drug-related offense committed within the past 5 years;
5

provided however, that the Department is empowered to
6

grant a waiver as the Department may provide by rule, and
7

the Department approves the request for the waiver based
8

on a comprehensive evaluation of the caregiver and
9

household members and the conditions relating to the
10

safety of the placement.
11

No later than July 1, 2025, the Department shall adopt
12
rules or revise existing rules to effectuate the changes made
13
to this subsection (v-4). The rules shall outline the
14
essential elements of each form used in the implementation and
15
enforcement of the provisions of this amendatory Act of the
16
103rd General Assembly.
17

(w) (Blank).
18

(x) The Department shall conduct annual credit history
19
checks to determine the financial history of children placed
20
under its guardianship pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act of
21
1987. The Department shall conduct such credit checks starting
22
when a youth in care turns 12 years old and each year
23
thereafter for the duration of the guardianship as terminated
24
pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. The Department
25
shall determine if financial exploitation of the child's
26
personal information has occurred. If financial exploitation

HB5015
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1
appears to have taken place or is presently ongoing, the
2
Department shall notify the proper law enforcement agency, the
3
proper State's Attorney, or the Attorney General.
4

(y) Beginning on July 22, 2010 (the effective date of
5
Public Act 96-1189), a child with a disability who receives
6
residential and educational services from the Department shall
7
be eligible to receive transition services in accordance with
8
Article 14 of the School Code from the age of 14.5 through age
9
21, inclusive, notwithstanding the child's residential
10
services arrangement. For purposes of this subsection, "child
11
with a disability" means a child with a disability as defined
12
by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education
13
Improvement Act of 2004.
14

(z) The Department shall access criminal history record
15
information as defined as "background information" in this
16
subsection and criminal history record information as defined
17
in the Illinois Uniform Conviction Information Act for each
18
Department employee or Department applicant. Each Department
19
employee or Department applicant shall submit the employee's
20
or applicant's fingerprints to the Illinois State Police in
21
the form and manner prescribed by the Illinois State Police.
22
These fingerprints shall be checked against the fingerprint
23
records now and hereafter filed in the Illinois State Police
24
and the Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history
25
records databases.
In accordance with this Section, each
26
Department employee or Department applicant shall self-report

HB5015
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1
to the Department within 30 days of incurring any subsequent
2
criminal history record information while employed or in
3
anticipation of being employed at the Department, along with
4
completing a self-certification form each year that there have
5
been no updates to the employee's or applicant's criminal
6
history record, on a form to be prescribed by the Department.

7
The Illinois State Police shall charge a fee for conducting
8
the criminal history record check, which shall be deposited
9
into the State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the
10
actual cost of the record check. The Illinois State Police
11
shall furnish, pursuant to positive identification, all
12
Illinois conviction information to the Department of Children
13
and Family Services.
14

For purposes of this subsection:
15

"Background information" means all of the following:
16

(i) Upon the request of the Department of Children and
17

Family Services, conviction information obtained from the
18

Illinois State Police as a result of a fingerprint-based
19

criminal history records check of the Illinois criminal
20

history records database and the Federal Bureau of
21

Investigation criminal history records database concerning
22

a Department employee or Department applicant.
23

(ii) Information obtained by the Department of
24

Children and Family Services after performing a check of
25

the Illinois State Police's Sex Offender Database, as
26

authorized by Section 120 of the Sex Offender Community

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1

Notification Law, concerning a Department employee or
2

Department applicant.
3

(iii) Information obtained by the Department of
4

Children and Family Services after performing a check of
5

the Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking System (CANTS)
6

operated and maintained by the Department.
7

"Department employee" means a full-time or temporary
8
employee coded or certified within the State of Illinois
9
Personnel System.
10

"Department applicant" means an individual who has
11
conditional Department full-time or part-time work, a
12
contractor, an individual used to replace or supplement staff,
13
an academic intern, a volunteer in Department offices or on
14
Department contracts, a work-study student, an individual or
15
entity licensed by the Department, or an unlicensed service
16
provider who works as a condition of a contract or an agreement
17
and whose work may bring the unlicensed service provider into
18
contact with Department clients or client records.
19

(aa) The changes made to this Section by
Public Act
20
104-165

this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly
are
21
declarative of existing law and are not a new enactment.
22
(Source: P.A. 103-22, eff. 8-8-23; 103-50, eff. 1-1-24;
23
103-546, eff. 8-11-23; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24; 103-1061, eff.
24
7-1-25; 104-107, eff. 7-1-26; 104-165, eff. 8-15-25; revised
25
9-11-25.)

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1

Section 10.
The Child Care Act of 1969 is amended by
2
changing Section 4.1 as follows:

3

(225 ILCS 10/4.1)

(from Ch. 23, par. 2214.1)
4

(Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 103-594
)
5

Sec. 4.1.
Criminal background investigations.
6

(a) In this Section, "third-party vendor" means a
7
third-party fingerprinting vendor who is licensed by the
8
Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and
9
regulated by 68 Ill. Adm. Code 1240.600.
10

(b) The Department shall require that each child care
11
facility license applicant as part of the application process,
12
and each employee and volunteer of a child care facility or
13
non-licensed service provider, as a condition of employment,
14
authorize an investigation to determine if such applicant,
15
employee, or volunteer has ever been charged with a crime and
16
if so, the disposition of those charges; this authorization
17
shall indicate the scope of the inquiry and the agencies which
18
may be contacted. An employee or volunteer of a day care
19
center, day care home, or group day care home shall authorize
20
an investigation every 5 years, as required under the Child
21
Care and Development Block Grant. A child care facility,
22
non-licensed service provider, day care center, group day care
23
home, or day care home may authorize the Department or a
24
third-party vendor to collect fingerprints for the
25
investigation. If a third-party vendor is used for

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1
fingerprinting, then the child care facility, non-licensed
2
service provider, day care center, group day care home, or day
3
care home shall pay the third-party vendor for that service
4
directly. If a child care facility, non-licensed service
5
provider, day care center, group day care home, or day care
6
home authorizes the Department or a third-party vendor to
7
collect fingerprints for the investigation, the Director shall
8
request and receive information and assistance from any
9
federal, State, or local governmental agency as part of the
10
authorized investigation. Each applicant, employee, or
11
volunteer of a child care facility or non-licensed service
12
provider shall submit the applicant's, employee's, or
13
volunteer's fingerprints to the Illinois State Police in the
14
form and manner prescribed by the Illinois State Police. These
15
fingerprints shall be checked against the fingerprint records
16
now and hereafter filed in the Illinois State Police and
17
Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal history records
18
databases. The Illinois State Police shall charge a fee for
19
conducting the criminal history records check, which shall be
20
deposited
into

in
the State Police Services Fund and shall not
21
exceed the actual cost of the records check. The Illinois
22
State Police shall provide information concerning any criminal
23
charges, and their disposition, now or hereafter filed,
24
against an applicant, employee, or volunteer of a child care
25
facility or non-licensed service provider upon request of the
26
Department of Children and Family Services when the request is

HB5015
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1
made in the form and manner required by the Illinois State
2
Police.
3

Information concerning convictions of a license applicant,
4
employee, or volunteer of a child care facility or
5
non-licensed service provider investigated under this Section,
6
including the source of the information and any conclusions or
7
recommendations derived from the information, shall be
8
provided, upon request, to such applicant, employee, or
9
volunteer of a child care facility or non-licensed service
10
provider prior to final action by the Department on the
11
application. State conviction information provided by the
12
Illinois State Police regarding employees, prospective
13
employees, or volunteers of non-licensed service providers and
14
child care facilities licensed under this Act shall be
15
provided to the operator of such facility, and, upon request,
16
to the employee, prospective employee, or volunteer of a child
17
care facility or non-licensed service provider. Any
18
information concerning criminal charges and the disposition of
19
such charges obtained by the Department shall be confidential
20
and may not be transmitted outside the Department, except as
21
required herein, and may not be transmitted to anyone within
22
the Department except as needed for the purpose of evaluating
23
an application or an employee or volunteer of a child care
24
facility or non-licensed service provider. Only information
25
and standards which bear a reasonable and rational relation to
26
the performance of a child care facility shall be used by the

HB5015
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1
Department or any licensee. Any employee of the Department of
2
Children and Family Services, Illinois State Police, or a
3
child care facility receiving confidential information under
4
this Section who gives or causes to be given any confidential
5
information concerning any criminal convictions of an
6
applicant, employee, or volunteer of a child care facility or
7
non-licensed service provider, shall be guilty of a Class A
8
misdemeanor unless release of such information is authorized
9
by this Section.
10

The Department of Children and Family Services, through
11
June 30, 2026, or the Department of Early Childhood, on and
12
after July 1, 2026, shall allow day care centers, day care
13
homes, and group day care homes to hire, on a probationary
14
basis, any employee or volunteer authorizing a criminal
15
background investigation under this Section after receiving a
16
qualifying result, as determined by the Department of Children
17
and Family Services or the Department of Early Childhood,
18
whichever is applicable, pursuant to this Act, from either:
19

(1) the Federal Bureau of Investigation fingerprint
20

criminal background check; or
21

(2) the Illinois State Police fingerprint criminal
22

background check and a criminal record check of the
23

criminal repository of each state in which the employee or
24

volunteer resided during the preceding 5 years.
25

Pending full clearance of all background check
26
requirements, the prospective employee or volunteer must be

HB5015
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1
supervised at all times by an individual who received a
2
qualifying result on all background check components.
3
Employees and volunteers of a day care center, day care home,
4
or group day care home shall be notified prior to hiring that
5
such employment may be terminated on the basis of criminal
6
background information obtained by the facility.
7
(Source: P.A. 103-22, eff. 8-8-23; 103-1072, eff. 1-1-26;
8
104-307, eff. 1-1-26; revised 10-27-25.)

9

(Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 103-594
)
10

Sec. 4.1.
Criminal background investigations.
11

(a) In this Section
:

, "third-party vendor"
12

"Employee" means any staff person employed at a child
13

care facility or non-licensed service provider, including
14

any unlicensed contractual employee, substitute, or
15

assistant and other support staff who have access to
16

children.

17

"Third-party vendor"
means a third-party
18

fingerprinting vendor who is licensed by the Department of
19

Financial and Professional Regulation and regulated by 68
20

Ill. Adm. Code 1240.600.
21

(b) The Department of Children and Family Services or the
22
Department of Early Childhood shall require that each child
23
care facility license applicant under the agencies' respective
24
authority as part of the application process, and each
25
employee and volunteer of a child care facility or

HB5015
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LRB104 19221 KTG 32666 b
1
non-licensed service provider, as a condition of employment,
2
authorize an investigation to determine if such applicant,
3
employee, or volunteer has ever been charged with a crime and
4
if so, the disposition of those charges; this authorization
5
shall indicate the scope of the inquiry and the agencies which
6
may be contacted. An employee or volunteer of a day care
7
center, day care home, or group day care home shall authorize
8
an investigation every 5 years, as required under the Child
9
Care and Development Block Grant. A child care facility,
10
non-licensed service provider, day care center, group day care
11
home, or day care home may authorize the Department
of
12
Children and Family Services, the Department of Early
13
Childhood,
or a third-party vendor to collect fingerprints for
14
the investigation. If a third-party vendor is used for
15
fingerprinting, then the child care facility, non-licensed
16
service provider, day care center, group day care home, or day
17
care home shall pay the third-party vendor for that service
18
directly. If a child care facility, non-licensed service
19
provider, day care center, group day care home, or day care
20
home authorizes the Department
of Children and Family
21
Services, the Department of Early Childhood,
or a third-party
22
vendor to collect fingerprints for the investigation, the
23
Director
of Children and Family Services or the Secretary of
24
Early Childhood
shall request and receive information and
25
assistance from any federal, State, or local governmental
26
agency as part of the authorized investigation. Each

HB5015
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LRB104 19221 KTG 32666 b
1
applicant, employee, or volunteer of a child care facility or
2
non-licensed service provider shall submit the applicant's,
3
employee's, or volunteer's fingerprints to the Illinois State
4
Police in the form and manner prescribed by the Illinois State
5
Police. These fingerprints shall be checked against the
6
fingerprint records now and hereafter filed in the Illinois
7
State Police and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal
8
history records databases.
In accordance with this Section,
9
each employee or volunteer of a child care facility or
10
non-licensed service provider under the authority of the
11
Department of Children and Family Services or the Department
12
of Early Childhood shall self-report to the appropriate
13
Department within 30 days of incurring any subsequent criminal
14
history record information while employed or in anticipation
15
of being employed at that child care facility or non-licensed
16
service provider, along with completing a self-certification
17
form each year that there have been no updates to the
18
employee's or volunteer's criminal history record, on a form
19
to be prescribed by the appropriate Department.
The Illinois
20
State Police shall charge a fee for conducting the criminal
21
history records check, which shall be deposited
into

in
the
22
State Police Services Fund and shall not exceed the actual
23
cost of the records check. The Illinois State Police shall
24
provide information concerning any criminal charges, and their
25
disposition, now or hereafter filed, against an applicant,
26
employee, or volunteer of a child care facility or

HB5015
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LRB104 19221 KTG 32666 b
1
non-licensed service provider upon request of the Department
2
of Children and Family Services or the Department of Early
3
Childhood when the request is made in the form and manner
4
required by the Illinois State Police.
5

Information concerning convictions of a license applicant,
6
employee, or volunteer of a child care facility or
7
non-licensed service provider investigated under this Section,
8
including the source of the information and any conclusions or
9
recommendations derived from the information, shall be
10
provided, upon request, to such applicant, employee, or
11
volunteer of a child care facility or non-licensed service
12
provider prior to final action by the Department of Children
13
and Family Services or the Department of Early Childhood under
14
the agencies' respective authority on the application. State
15
conviction information provided by the Illinois State Police
16
regarding employees, prospective employees, or volunteers of
17
non-licensed service providers and child care facilities
18
licensed under this Act shall be provided to the operator of
19
such facility, and, upon request, to the employee, prospective
20
employee, or volunteer of a child care facility or
21
non-licensed service provider. Any information concerning
22
criminal charges and the disposition of such charges obtained
23
by the Department of Children and Family Services or the
24
Department of Early Childhood shall be confidential and may
25
not be transmitted outside the Department of Children and
26
Family Services or the Department of Early Childhood, except

HB5015
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LRB104 19221 KTG 32666 b
1
as required herein, and may not be transmitted to anyone
2
within the Department of Children and Family Services or the
3
Department of Early Childhood except as needed for the purpose
4
of evaluating an application or an employee or volunteer of a
5
child care facility or non-licensed service provider. Only
6
information and standards which bear a reasonable and rational
7
relation to the performance of a child care facility shall be
8
used by the Department of Children and Family Services or the
9
Department of Early Childhood or any licensee. Any employee of
10
the Department of Children and Family Services, Department of
11
Early Childhood, Illinois State Police, or a child care
12
facility receiving confidential information under this Section
13
who gives or causes to be given any confidential information
14
concerning any criminal convictions of an applicant, employee,
15
or volunteer of a child care facility or non-licensed service
16
provider, shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor unless
17
release of such information is authorized by this Section.
18

The Department of Children and Family Services, through
19
June 30, 2026, or the Department of Early Childhood, on and
20
after July 1, 2026, shall allow day care centers, day care
21
homes, and group day care homes to hire, on a probationary
22
basis, any employee or volunteer authorizing a criminal
23
background investigation under this Section after receiving a
24
qualifying result, as determined by the Department of Children
25
and Family Services or the Department of Early Childhood,
26
whichever is applicable, pursuant to this Act, from either:

HB5015
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LRB104 19221 KTG 32666 b
1

(1) the Federal Bureau of Investigation fingerprint
2

criminal background check; or
3

(2) the Illinois State Police fingerprint criminal
4

background check and a criminal record check of the
5

criminal repository of each state in which the employee or
6

volunteer resided during the preceding 5 years.
7

Pending full clearance of all background check
8
requirements, the prospective employee or volunteer must be
9
supervised at all times by an individual who received a
10
qualifying result on all background check components.
11
Employees and volunteers of a day care center, day care home,
12
or group day care home shall be notified prior to hiring that
13
such employment may be terminated on the basis of criminal
14
background information obtained by the facility.
15
(Source: P.A. 103-22, eff. 8-8-23; 103-594, eff. 7-1-26;
16
103-1072, eff. 1-1-26; 104-307, eff. 1-1-26; revised
17
10-27-25.)

18

Section 95.
No acceleration or delay.
Where this Act makes
19
changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by text
20
that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a Section
21
represented by multiple versions), the use of that text does
22
not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i) the changes
23
made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from any other
24
Public Act.

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