STRENGTHENING FATHERS&FAMILIES

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of SB3119

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB3119

Introduced 2/2/2026, by Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

New Act
30 ILCS 105/5.1038 new

Creates the Commission on Strengthening Fathers and Families Act.
Provides that the purpose of the Act is to promote the recognition of the
importance of the participation of both parents in the lives of their
children. Creates the Strengthening Fathers and Families Initiative
(Initiative) with the goal of increasing the awareness of the problems
created when a child grows up without the presence and support of a caring
and loving father, identifying strategies that are successful in
overcoming identified obstacles that discourage the active engagement of
fathers, and other specified goals. Requires the Initiative to also
promote positive interactions between fathers and their children, while
promoting positive interactions between fathers and the mothers of their
children. Creates the Commission on Strengthening Fathers and Families to
carry out the purposes, goals, and initiatives of the Act. Contains
provisions on the Commission's membership, goals, and duties, including,
but not limited to, (i) developing a comprehensive plan that promotes the
positive involvement and engagement of fathers and that advances family
strengthening strategies, (ii) evaluating State programs, governmental
policies, and community initiatives related to fatherhood and family
strengthening, (iii) making recommendations to the Governor, the Deputy
Governor of Health and Human Services, and the General Assembly, (iv)
developing criteria for grants to fatherhood and family strengthening
projects, and (v) receiving grants, contributions, and other funds for
projects and activities related to advancing father involvement and
engagement, and family strengthening. Provides that the Department of
Human Services shall provide staffing support to the Commission. Creates
the Fatherhood and Family Strengthening Fund to hold grants,
contributions, and other funds received by the Commission to be expended
for the purposes of the Act. Amends the State Finance Act to add the
Fatherhood and Family Strengthening Fund to the list of State funds.
LRB104 17644 KTG 31075 b

A BILL FOR

SB3119
LRB104 17644 KTG 31075 b
1

AN ACT concerning families.

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
Commission on Strengthening Fathers and Families Act.

6

Section 5.
Purpose.
The purpose of this Act is to promote
7
the recognition of the importance of the participation of both
8
parents in the lives of their children. While social policy
9
and practice have often focused on the difficulties of raising
10
a child in a single-parent family and have often created
11
barriers to the involvement of both parents in their child's
12
life, the purpose of this Act is to promote a social policy and
13
practice that values the contribution that each parent brings
14
to the family unit, whether that parenting is occurring with
15
parents who have never been married, parents who are divorced,
16
or parents who are married and cohabitating.

17

Section 10.
Strengthening Fathers and Families Initiative.
18

(a) The purpose of this Act shall be implemented through a
19
family strengthening initiative to be directed by the
20
Commission on Strengthening Fathers and Families created under
21
Section 15.
22

(b) The Strengthening Fathers and Families Initiative is

SB3119
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LRB104 17644 KTG 31075 b
1
created with the following goals:
2

(1) to increase the awareness of the problems created
3

when a child grows up without the presence and support of a
4

caring and loving father;
5

(2) to identify obstacles that impede or prevent the
6

involvement of caring and loving fathers in the lives of
7

their children;
8

(3) to identify strategies that are successful in
9

overcoming identified obstacles that discourage the active
10

engagement of fathers; and
11

(4) to facilitate the transition from current
12

policies, perceptions, and practices that adversely affect
13

the participation of fathers in their children's lives due
14

to such policies, perceptions, and practices failing to
15

promote the contributions of caring and loving fathers.
16

The Strengthening Fathers and Families Initiative shall
17
promote positive interactions between fathers and their
18
children, as well as promote positive interactions between
19
fathers and the mothers of their children. While the emphasis
20
of the initiative must be on the population of children whose
21
families have received or are receiving public assistance, the
22
initiative may not exclude those populations of children for
23
whom the initiative is appropriate.

24

Section 15.
Commission on Strengthening Fathers and
25
Families; membership and goals.

SB3119
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LRB104 17644 KTG 31075 b
1

(a) The Commission on Strengthening Fathers and Families
2
is created to carry out the purposes, goals, and initiatives
3
of this Act. The Commission shall consist of a maximum of 21
4
members. The Chair of the Commission shall be appointed by and
5
serve at the pleasure of the Deputy Governor of Health and
6
Human Services. Upon appointing the inaugural Chair of the
7
Commission, the Inaugural Chair and the Deputy Governor of
8
Health and Human Services shall work collaboratively to
9
identify and install the Commission members.
10

The Commission shall be operational when at least an
11
additional 10 Commission members have been identified and
12
installed. Election of the co-chair of the Commission and the
13
establishment of Commission bylaws must occur within a
14
reasonable time and manner after the Commission is effectively
15
operational.
16

All decisions made and policies established by the
17
Commission shall be by consensus of the Commission membership
18
based on the vote of a simple majority.
19

(b) The Commission membership may be comprised of, but not
20
limited to: fathers, mothers, representatives of the Temporary
21
Assistance for Needy Families program, advocates from the
22
child welfare community, advocates from fatherhood
23
organizations, advocates from mother advocacy organizations,
24
family law representatives, judicial or family court
25
representatives, representatives from legal service
26
organizations, social service agency representatives, family

SB3119
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LRB104 17644 KTG 31075 b
1
support organization representatives, representatives from the
2
Department of Corrections, representatives from the Office of
3
the Attorney General, and representatives from either the
4
Illinois State's Attorneys Association or the Division of
5
Child Support Services within the Department of Healthcare and
6
Family Services.
7

At least 50% of the Commission's membership shall be
8
comprised of parents.
9

Members shall serve without compensation but may be
10
reimbursed for their actual expenses in carrying out their
11
duties as members of the Commission.
12

The Department of Human Services must provide staff
13
support to ensure the operational integrity and to assist in
14
advancing the work of the Commission.
15

(c) The goals of the Commission on Strengthening Fathers
16
and Families must include, but are not limited to, the
17
following:
18

(1) Advocating for growing public will to support the
19

role of fathers in families across the socio-economic
20

spectrum of families and family configurations.
21

(2) Supporting education opportunities that prepare
22

fathers to effectively meet their legal, financial,
23

nurturing, and emotional obligations to their children.
24

(3) The promotion of the establishment of paternity
25

upon the birth of a child.
26

(4) Promoting strategies that assist fathers in

SB3119
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LRB104 17644 KTG 31075 b
1

fostering nurturing and emotional connections with their
2

children, while building cooperative and collaborative
3

relationships with the mothers of their children.
4

(5) Supporting the promotion of peer-to-peer father
5

support groups that support fathers in developing and
6

maintaining positive and supportive relationships with
7

their children, as well as with the mothers of their
8

children.
9

(6) Reducing the negative outcomes of divorce,
10

separation, custody, and visitation by advancing
11

opportunities for parent and family mediation and
12

promoting approaches that support autonomous parental
13

decision-making through mutually agreed on parenting
14

plans.
15

(7) Encouraging the coordination, integration, and
16

leveraging of State and local services so they function
17

more seamlessly and holistically to strengthen and support
18

fathers and families.

19

Section 20.
Duties of the Commission on Strengthening
20
Fathers and Families.
The duties of the Commission on
21
Strengthening Fathers and Families may evolve over time as the
22
Commission executes its mission. The Commission's duties
23
include, but are not limited to, the following:
24

(1) To develop a comprehensive plan that promotes the
25

positive involvement and engagement of fathers and that

SB3119
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LRB104 17644 KTG 31075 b
1

advances family strengthening strategies that improve the
2

social, emotional, and physical development of children.
3

(2) To evaluate State programs, governmental policies,
4

and community initiatives related to fatherhood and family
5

strengthening and make recommendations regarding those
6

programs and policy initiatives to the Governor, the
7

Deputy Governor of Health and Human Services, and the
8

General Assembly.
9

(3) To engage in a partnership with a university
10

collaborator that will advance basic research and data
11

analysis associated with promoting practices and policies
12

that support father engagement and involvement and family
13

strengthening. The inaugural research partner for the
14

Commission shall be the Lab for Empowerment and
15

Advancement through Dad-Driven Research in the School of
16

Social Work at the University of Illinois-Chicago.
17

(4) With the support of the Office of the Deputy
18

Governor for Health and Human Services, to convene
19

statewide symposia to discuss and accelerate efforts to
20

advance fatherhood and family strengthening initiatives
21

statewide.
22

(5) Subject to appropriations, to develop criteria for
23

and to issue requests for proposals for grants to
24

fatherhood and family strengthening projects that are
25

approved by the Commission.
26

(6) To receive grants, contributions, and other funds

SB3119
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LRB104 17644 KTG 31075 b
1

for the purpose of projects and activities related to
2

advancing father involvement and engagement and family
3

strengthening.
4

(7) As appropriate, and as resources and capacity
5

allow, to annually develop a report associated with the
6

work of the Commission on Strengthening Fathers and
7

Families.

8

Section 25.
Fatherhood and Family Strengthening Fund.
9
Grants, contributions, and other funds received by the
10
Commission on Strengthening Fathers and Families must be
11
deposited into the Fatherhood and Family Strengthening Fund, a
12
special fund created in the State treasury. Subject to
13
appropriation and as directed by the Commission, moneys in the
14
Fund may be expended for the purposes of this Act. The
15
Department of Human Services may direct discretionary funds to
16
the Fatherhood and Family Strengthening Fund to support the
17
core functions and operations of the Commission on
18
Strengthening Fathers and Families.

19

Section 85.
The State Finance Act is amended by adding
20
Section 5.1038 as follows:

21

(30 ILCS 105/5.1038 new)
22

Sec. 5.1038.
The Fatherhood and Family Strengthening Fund.

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