Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a)
Parental Relinquishment of a Newborn Infant
1)
In accordance with the Abandoned Newborn Infants Protection Act [325 ILCS 2 ],
a parent of a newborn infant may relinquish the infant to a hospital, police
station, fire station or emergency medical facility personnel within 30 days
after the child's birth. Relinquishment of a newborn infant in accordance with
the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act does not render the infant abused,
neglected or abandoned solely because the newborn infant was relinquished to a
hospital, police station, fire station or emergency medical facility.
2) Hospital, police station, fire station and
emergency medical facility personnel are mandated reporters under the Abused
and Neglected Child Reporting Act. If personnel of the hospital, police
station, fire station or emergency medical facility to which the newborn infant
is relinquished suspect child abuse or neglect that is not solely based on the
newborn infant's relinquishment, they must report the suspected abuse or
neglect to the Department's State Central Register.
3) Neither a child protective investigation
nor a criminal investigation may be initiated solely because a newborn infant
is relinquished in accordance with the Abandoned Newborn Infants Protection
Act.
4) Newborn infants
relinquished to a police station, fire station or emergency medical facility
will be transported to the nearest hospital as soon as transportation can be
arranged by the facility. If the parent of a relinquished infant returns to the
facility to reclaim the infant within 72 hours, the facility must provide the
parent with the name and location of the hospital to which the infant was
transported.
b) Medical
Examination
1) In accordance with the
Abandoned Newborn Infants Protection Act, hospitals will have temporary
protective custody of relinquished infants and will examine and perform
medically reasonable tests that are appropriate to determine if the newborn
infant has been abused or neglected. If the medical examination determines that
there is no evidence of abuse or neglect and that the infant is no older than
30 days, the relinquishing parent, if present, will be verbally notified by the
facility that he or she can remain anonymous, and he or she will have to
petition the court if he or she desires to prevent the termination of parental
rights and regain custody of the child. The relinquishing parent will also be
offered a packet of information that includes:
A) Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical
Information Exchange application;
B) Medical Information Exchange
Questionnaire;
C) The Illinois
Adoption Registry web site address and toll-free telephone number;
D) A resource list of providers of counseling
services, including grief counseling, pregnancy counseling and counseling
regarding adoption and other available infant placement options;
E) A notice that, no sooner than 60 days
after the initial relinquishment of the infant, the child-placing agency or
Department will commence proceedings to terminate parental rights and place the
infant for adoption; and
F) A
notice that failure of the parent to contact the placing agency or Department
and petition for the return of custody of the infant before termination of
parental rights bars any future action asserting legal rights with respect to
the child.
2) If the
medical examination of the relinquished child reveals that the child is abused
or neglected or is not a newborn infant, the hospital and Department must
proceed as if the child is an abused or neglected child.
c) Notification to the Department's State
Central Register (SCR)
Within 12 hours after a hospital accepts a newborn infant from
a relinquishing parent, police, fire or emergency medical facility personnel,
the hospital will report the infant in its custody to the State Central
Register. The SCR will do the following:
1) Maintain a list of licensed child-placing
agencies willing to take legal custody of relinquished newborn infants on a
rotational basis;
2) Notify a
licensed child-placing agency of the relinquished infant. If no licensed
child-placing agency is able to accept the infant, the Department must assume
responsibility for the infant as soon as practicable;
3) Request assistance from law enforcement
officials to investigate the incident using the National Crime Information
Center to ensure that the relinquished infant is not a missing child. The check
will be requested within 24 hours after receiving notification from a
hospital.
d)
Child-Placing Agencies or the Department
1)
Acceptance of Abandoned Newborn Infants
Child-placing agencies must accept an abandoned newborn infant,
if the agency has the accommodations to do so, and place the infant in an
adoptive home when possible. If no licensed child-placing agency is able to
accept the infant, the Department must assume responsibility for the
infant.
2) Petition for
Legal Custody
Within three business days after assuming physical custody of
the infant, the child-placing agency or Department shall file a petition in the
division of the circuit court in which petitions for adoption are heard. The
petition shall allege that the newborn infant has been relinquished in
accordance with the Abandoned Newborn Infants Protection Act, and shall state
that the child-placing agency intends to place the child in an adoptive home.
The custody order issued shall remain in effect until a final adoption order
based on the infant's best interests is issued in accordance with the Abandoned
Newborn Infants Protection Act and the Adoption Act [750 ILCS 50 ].
3) Putative Father Registry
Within 30-days after the estimated date of birth of the
relinquished newborn infant, the child-placing agency or Department must
complete a search of the Department's Putative Father Registry in accordance
with 89 Ill. Adm. Code 309 (Adoption Services for Children for Whom the
Department of Children and Family Services is Legally Responsible).
4) No sooner than 60 days
following the initial relinquishment of the infant to a hospital, police
station, fire station or emergency medical facility, the child-placing agency
or Department shall initiate proceedings to:
A) Terminate the parental rights of the
relinquished newborn infant's known or unknown parent;
B) Appoint a guardian for the infant;
and
C) Obtain consent to the
infant's adoption.
e) Petition for Return of Custody
A parent of a newborn infant relinquished in accordance with
the Abandoned Newborn Infants Protection Act may petition the court for the
return of custody of the infant prior to the termination of the parental
rights.
1) A parent of a relinquished
newborn infant must contact the SCR to obtain the name of the child-placing
agency to determine if a petition for termination of parental rights is
pending. The parent must then file a petition for the return of custody in the
appropriate circuit court.
2) The
circuit court may hold the proceeding for the termination of parental rights in
abeyance for a period not to exceed 60 days from the date that the petition for
the return of custody was filed without a showing of good cause. During that
period:
A) The court will order genetic
testing to establish maternity or paternity, or both;
B) The Department shall conduct a child
protective investigation and home study to develop recommendations to the
court;
C) When indicated as a
result of the Department's investigation and home study, the court may conduct
other proceedings under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 [705 ILCS 405 ] that the
court determines appropriate.
3) If a parent fails to file a petition for
return of custody prior to the termination of parental rights, the parent is
barred from any future action asserting his or her legal rights with respect to
the infant unless the parent's act of relinquishment that led to the
termination of his or her parental rights involved fraud perpetrated against
and not stemming from or involving the parent. No action to void or revoke the
termination of parental rights of a parent of a new born relinquished in
accordance with the Act, including an action based on fraud, may be initiated
after 12 months from the date that the newborn was initially relinquished to a
hospital, police station, fire station or emergency medical facility.
f) Report to the Governor and
General Assembly
1) The Department shall
collect and evaluate information concerning the effect of the Abandoned Newborn
Infants Protection Act in the prevention of injury to or death of newborn
infants. Child-placing agencies shall provide the following information to the
Department:
A) The number of newborn infants
served by the agency;
B) The
services provided to the infants;
C) The outcome of the care for the
infants;
D) The disposition of the
newborn infant cases;
E) Other
relevant information requested by the Department.
2) The Department shall submit a report the
Governor and General Assembly by January 1 of every year regarding the
prevention of injury to or death of newborn infants and the effect of
placements of infants under the Abandoned Newborn Infants Protection Act. The
report shall include:
A) A summary of
collected data;
B) Analysis of the
data and conclusions regarding the effectiveness of the Abandoned Newborn
Infant Protection Act;
C) A
determination of whether the purposes of the Abandoned Newborn Infants
Protection Act are being achieved;
D) Recommendations for changes necessary to
improve administration and enforcement of the Abandoned Newborn Infants
Protection Act; and
E) Other
information determined necessary by the Department.
g) Public Information Program
The Department will initiate a public information program to
promote safe placement alternatives for newborn infants and inform the public
of the Abandoned Newborn Infants Protection Act. The Department may use any
media elements appropriate for the dissemination of the information.
h) Confidentiality
Personal information of persons relinquishing an infant in
accordance with the Abandoned Newborn Infants Protection Act is confidential
and shall not be released to the general public.
