HB 4299

Abstract

Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Requires the Department of Children and Family Services to establish a pilot program for the purpose of addressing racial disparities in the child welfare system in at least 5 counties, which shall be selected to participate on a voluntary basis in the pilot program according to criteria developed by the Department. Provides that the selected counties shall include, at a minimum, one county in southern Illinois, one county in northern Illinois, and one county in a rural area of the State. Requires the participating counties' pilot programs to utilize a blind removal strategy when deciding whether a child should be removed from their parents' home. Provides that a participating county's pilot program may include, but shall not be limited to, a program whereby at any meeting of a Department region or field office during which the removal of a child from the child's home is discussed, certain information is required to be redacted from the case file in preparation for the removal decision, including: (i) the name, gender, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious affiliation or beliefs, and political affiliation or beliefs of the child and the child's parents. Requires the Department to conduct at least one evaluation of the participating counties' pilot programs and their effectiveness after 3 years of implementation and to submit the information for the evaluation in a report to the General Assembly. Requires the evaluation to include monitoring the program's effect on the rate of Black, Native American, and Latinx children who were removed from their homes. Provides that implementation is subject to appropriation. Repeals the new provisions on January 1, 2026.