DCFS-CHILD RELINQUISHMENT

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB5129

Select Language

×

The Illinois General Assembly offers the Google Translate™ service for visitor convenience. In no way should it be considered accurate as to the translation of any content herein.

Visitors of the Illinois General Assembly website are encouraged to use other translation services available on the internet.

The English language version is always the official and authoritative version of this website.

NOTE: To return to the original English language version, select the "Show Original" button on the Google Translate™ menu bar at the top of the window.

Choose Language

English

Afrikaans

Albanian

Arabic

Armenian

Azerbaijani

Basque

Bengali

Bosnian

Catalan

Croatian

Czech

Danish

Dutch

Esperanto

Estonian

Filipino

Finnish

French

Galician

Georgian

German

Greek

Gujarati

Haitian Creole

Hausa

Hawaiian

Hebrew

Hindi

Hungarian

Icelandic

Indonesian

Interlingua

Interlingue

Inuktitut

Irish

Italian

Japanese

Javanese

Kannada

Khmer

Korean

Latin

Latvian

Lithuanian

Luxembourgish

Macedonian

Malagasy

Malayalam

Maltese

Maori

Marathi

Myanmar

Nepali

Norwegian

Odia

Pashto

Punjabi

Romanian

Russian

Samoan

Sango

Sanskrit

Sardinian

Sindhi

Sinhala

Slovak

Slovenian

Somali

Southern Sotho

Spanish

Sundanese

Swahili

Swedish

Tamil

Telugu

Thai

Tigrinya

Tonga

Turkish

Ukrainian

Urdu

Vietnamese

Welsh

Xhosa

Yiddish

Yoruba

Zulu

Powered by
Translate

Close

Illinois General Assembly

Top Navigation Bar

Translate

Learn

Select General Assembly

Search the 104th General Assembly

Enter search terms for legislation, members, committees, or schedules.

ILGA.GOV

LEGISLATION & LAWS

Bills & Resolutions

Public Acts

Illinois Compiled Statutes

Illinois Constitution

Search Legislation

Glossary

Guide

Reports & Inquiry

Legislative Reports

Special Reports

FTP Site

Legislator Lookup

Capitol Complex Phone Numbers

Rules & Regulations

Illinois Register

Administrative Rules

Senate

Members

Schedules

Committees

Request for Remote Testimony

Journals

Transcripts

Rules

Audio/Video

FOIA Information

Senate Employment Opportunities

Media Guidelines

House

Members

Schedules

Committees

Submit testimony for House Committees

Journals

Transcripts

Rules

Audio/Video

FOIA Information

House Employment Opportunities

Log In

Mobile Top Bar

Search the 104th General Assembly

Enter keywords to search the Illinois General Assembly website.

Full Text of HB5129

Home

Legislation

Full Text

HB5129 - 104th General Assembly

Bill Status

Full Text

Votes

Witness Slips

Select Menu

Bill Status

Full Text

Votes

Witness Slips

Printer Friendly Version

Introduced

Printer Friendly Version

Introduced

Open PDF

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB5129

Introduced 2/10/2026, by Rep. Charles Meier

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act

Creates the Custody Relinquishment Prevention Involving Children with
Developmental Disabilities Act. Provides that the Act establishes a
pathway for families on the verge of seeking services for their child's
developmental disability through relinquishment of parental custody to the
Department of Children and Family Services, despite the absence of abuse
or neglect, to receive services through the appropriate State
child-serving agency. Requires the Department of Children and Family
Services, the Department of Human Services, the Department of Healthcare
and Family Services, the Illinois State Board of Education, the Department
of Juvenile Justice, and the Department of Public Health to enter into an
interagency agreement for the purpose of preventing children and youth
with developmental disabilities who are not otherwise abused or neglected
from entering the custody or guardianship of the Department of Children
and Family Services solely for purposes of receiving specialized services
and supports to address the child's or youth's needs. Provides that under
the interagency agreement, the listed agencies shall establish an
interagency clinical team to review cases of children and youth with
developmental disabilities who live at home with their families and are at
risk of relinquishment, and to connect the child or youth and his or her
family with the appropriate services, treatment, and support to prevent
custody relinquishment to the Department of Children and Family Services.
Contains provisions on what issues must be addressed in the interagency
agreement; annual outcomes and data reports to the General Assembly; and
other matters. Requires the listed agencies to adopt rules providing that
any employee of that Department who encourages a parent, guardian, or
other responsible adult to relinquish custody of a child with a
developmental disability solely to access specialized services and
supports through the appropriate State child-serving agency, despite the
absence of abuse or neglect, is subject to termination.
LRB104 17882 KTG 31318 b

A BILL FOR

HB5129
LRB104 17882 KTG 31318 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 1.
Short title.
This Act may be cited as the
5
Custody Relinquishment Prevention Involving Children with
6
Developmental Disabilities Act.

7

Section 5.
Purpose.
This Act establishes a pathway for
8
families on the verge of seeking services for their child's
9
developmental disability through relinquishment of parental
10
custody to the Department of Children and Family Services,
11
despite the absence of abuse or neglect, to receive services
12
through the appropriate State child-serving agency. This
13
pathway shall be outlined in an interagency agreement between
14
all the relevant State agencies.

15

Section 10.
Definitions.
As used in this Act:
16

"Child or youth at risk of custody relinquishment" means a
17
child or youth with a developmental disability whose parents
18
or guardians are unable to properly manage the child's or
19
youth's complex medical, developmental, and social needs and
20
believe relinquishment is the only option to secure the
21
specialized services and supports necessary to promote the
22
child's or youth's well-being and maintain family stability,

HB5129
- 2 -
LRB104 17882 KTG 31318 b
1
and there is no evidence of abuse or neglect.
2

"Developmental disability" has the same meaning ascribed
3
to that term in Section 1-106 of the Mental Health and
4
Developmental Disabilities Code.
5

"Family income" means the sum of a family's annual
6
earnings and cash benefits from all sources before taxes, less
7
payments made for child support.

8

Section 15.
Interagency agreement.
In order to intercept
9
and divert children and youth at risk of custody
10
relinquishment to the Department of Children and Family
11
Services, within 180 days after the effective date of this
12
Act, the Department of Children and Family Services, the
13
Department of Human Services, the Department of Healthcare and
14
Family Services, the Illinois State Board of Education, the
15
Department of Juvenile Justice, and the Department of Public
16
Health shall enter into an interagency agreement for the
17
purpose of preventing children and youth with developmental
18
disabilities who are not otherwise abused or neglected from
19
entering the custody or guardianship of the Department of
20
Children and Family Services solely for purposes of receiving
21
specialized services and supports to address the child's or
22
youth's needs. The interagency agreement shall require the
23
agencies listed in this Section to establish an interagency
24
clinical team to review cases of children and youth with
25
developmental disabilities who live at home with their

HB5129
- 3 -
LRB104 17882 KTG 31318 b
1
families and are at risk of relinquishment, and to connect the
2
child or youth and his or her family with the appropriate
3
services, treatment, and support to prevent custody
4
relinquishment to the Department of Children and Family
5
Services.
6

The interagency agreement, among other things, shall
7
address all of the following:
8

(1) Requiring families with private health insurance
9

to exhaust their private insurance coverage.
10

(2) Establishing cost sharing for services received
11

for families whose income exceeds the federal poverty
12

level that would qualify them for Medicaid, based on the
13

family's ability to pay.
14

(3) For children or youth who are not otherwise
15

Medicaid eligible, performing a family and medical
16

assessment and developing a care plan for the child or
17

youth and the family with the goal of determining what
18

services and supports are necessary to (i) address the
19

child's or youth's specific developmental disability, (ii)
20

promote and maintain family stability and permanence, and
21

(iii) prevent custody relinquishment to the Department of
22

Children and Family Services when there is no abuse or
23

neglect.
24

(4) Set criteria for short-term respite care services,
25

including intensive community-based therapeutic
26

recreational activities or a short-term out-of-home

HB5129
- 4 -
LRB104 17882 KTG 31318 b
1

placement, as the child or youth's treatment plan is being
2

developed.

3

Section 20.
Outcomes and data reported annually to the
4
General Assembly.
5

(a) The Department of Children and Family Services shall
6
submit an annual report to the General Assembly which includes
7
the following with respect to the time period covered by the
8
report:
9

(1) The number of children and youth who were
10

relinquished to the Department of Children and Family
11

Services for purposes of receiving treatment for a
12

developmental disability.
13

(2) The length of treatment and the status of children
14

and youth at the termination of services.
15

(b) The interagency agreement required under Section 15
16
shall require reporting to the General Assembly with respect
17
to the following criteria:
18

(1) The number of children and youth who
19

were intercepted during the reporting period and the
20

services and supports they were connected with to prevent
21

custody relinquishment and address the child's or youth's
22

specific needs.
23

(2) The duration of the specialized services and
24

supports the child or youth received in order to maintain
25

his or her well-being and promote family stability and

HB5129
- 5 -
LRB104 17882 KTG 31318 b
1

permanence.
2

(3) Following the connection to services and supports
3

through the most appropriate State agency to address the
4

child's or youth's specific needs, the number of families
5

that failed to stabilize and turned to the Department of
6

Children and Family Services for services, and that
7

relinquished custody or whose child was adjudicated a
8

dependent minor pursuant to subdivision (c) of paragraph
9

(1) of Section 2-4 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.

10

Section 25.
Cause for termination.
The Departments of
11
Children and Family Services, Human Services, Healthcare and
12
Family Services, Juvenile Justice, and Public Health shall
13
adopt rules providing that any employee of that Department who
14
encourages a parent, guardian, or other responsible adult to
15
relinquish custody of a child with a developmental disability
16
solely to access specialized services and supports through the
17
appropriate State child-serving agency, despite the absence of
18
abuse or neglect, is subject to termination.

Footer

Disclaimer

This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the
Legislative Information System, 705 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois 62706.

Contact ILGA Webmaster

ILGA.gov uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse ILGA.gov you consent to our use of cookies.
Read About Cookies

ILGA.GOV

2026 ILGA.gov | All Rights Reserved |
ADA

|
Disclaimers
|
Learn

This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the
Legislative Information System, 705 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois 62706.
Contact ILGA Webmaster

ILGA.gov uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse ILGA.gov you consent to our use of cookies.
Read About Cookies

ILGA.GOV

2026 ILGA.gov | All Rights Reserved |
ADA

|
Disclaimers
|
Learn