Bill Text: IL HB5835 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Adoption Act. Provides that a "related child" includes a child subject to adoption where either or both of the adopting parents is a former step-parent.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-11-10 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB5835 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2019-HB5835-Introduced.html

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101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2019 and 2020 HB5835 Introduced , by Rep. Natalie A. Manley SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
750 ILCS 50/1 from Ch. 40, par. 1501
Amends the Adoption Act. Provides that a "related child" includes a child subject to adoption where either or both of the adopting parents is a former step-parent.
LRB101 22144 LNS 73168 b
A BILL FOR
HB5835 LRB101 22144 LNS 73168 b
AN ACT concerning civil law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Adoption Act is amended by changing Section
1 as follows:
(750 ILCS 50/1) (from Ch. 40, par. 1501)
Sec. 1. Definitions. When used in this Act, unless the
context otherwise requires:
A. "Child" means a person under legal age subject to
adoption under this Act.
B. "Related child" means a child subject to adoption where
either or both of the adopting parents stands in any of the
following relationships to the child by blood, marriage,
adoption, or civil union: parent, grand-parent,
great-grandparent, brother, sister, step-parent or former
step-parent, step-grandparent, step-brother, step-sister,
uncle, aunt, great-uncle, great-aunt, first cousin, or second
cousin. A person is related to the child as a first cousin or
second cousin if they are both related to the same ancestor as
either grandchild or great-grandchild. A child whose parent has
executed a consent to adoption, a surrender, or a waiver
pursuant to Section 10 of this Act or whose parent has signed a
denial of paternity pursuant to Section 12 of the Vital Records

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Act or Section 12a of this Act, or whose parent has had his or
her parental rights terminated, is not a related child to that
person, unless (1) the consent is determined to be void or is
void pursuant to subsection O of Section 10 of this Act; or (2)
the parent of the child executed a consent to adoption by a
specified person or persons pursuant to subsection A-1 of
Section 10 of this Act and a court of competent jurisdiction
finds that such consent is void; or (3) the order terminating
the parental rights of the parent is vacated by a court of
competent jurisdiction.
C. "Agency" for the purpose of this Act means a public
child welfare agency or a licensed child welfare agency.
D. "Unfit person" means any person whom the court shall
find to be unfit to have a child, without regard to the
likelihood that the child will be placed for adoption. The
grounds of unfitness are any one or more of the following,
except that a person shall not be considered an unfit person
for the sole reason that the person has relinquished a child in
accordance with the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act:
(a) Abandonment of the child.
(a-1) Abandonment of a newborn infant in a hospital.
(a-2) Abandonment of a newborn infant in any setting
where the evidence suggests that the parent intended to
relinquish his or her parental rights.
(b) Failure to maintain a reasonable degree of
interest, concern or responsibility as to the child's

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welfare.
(c) Desertion of the child for more than 3 months next
preceding the commencement of the Adoption proceeding.
(d) Substantial neglect of the child if continuous or
repeated.
(d-1) Substantial neglect, if continuous or repeated,
of any child residing in the household which resulted in
the death of that child.
(e) Extreme or repeated cruelty to the child.
(f) There is a rebuttable presumption, which can be
overcome only by clear and convincing evidence, that a
parent is unfit if:
(1) Two or more findings of physical abuse have
been entered regarding any children under Section 2-21
of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987, the most recent of
which was determined by the juvenile court hearing the
matter to be supported by clear and convincing
evidence; or
(2) The parent has been convicted or found not
guilty by reason of insanity and the conviction or
finding resulted from the death of any child by
physical abuse; or
(3) There is a finding of physical child abuse
resulting from the death of any child under Section
2-21 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
No conviction or finding of delinquency pursuant to

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Article V of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 shall be
considered a criminal conviction for the purpose of
applying any presumption under this item (f).
(g) Failure to protect the child from conditions within
his environment injurious to the child's welfare.
(h) Other neglect of, or misconduct toward the child;
provided that in making a finding of unfitness the court
hearing the adoption proceeding shall not be bound by any
previous finding, order or judgment affecting or
determining the rights of the parents toward the child
sought to be adopted in any other proceeding except such
proceedings terminating parental rights as shall be had
under either this Act, the Juvenile Court Act or the
Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
(i) Depravity. Conviction of any one of the following
crimes shall create a presumption that a parent is depraved
which can be overcome only by clear and convincing
evidence: (1) first degree murder in violation of paragraph
(1) 1 or (2) 2 of subsection (a) of Section 9-1 of the
Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012 or
conviction of second degree murder in violation of
subsection (a) of Section 9-2 of the Criminal Code of 1961
or the Criminal Code of 2012 of a parent of the child to be
adopted; (2) first degree murder or second degree murder of
any child in violation of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the
Criminal Code of 2012; (3) attempt or conspiracy to commit

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first degree murder or second degree murder of any child in
violation of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code
of 2012; (4) solicitation to commit murder of any child,
solicitation to commit murder of any child for hire, or
solicitation to commit second degree murder of any child in
violation of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code
of 2012; (5) predatory criminal sexual assault of a child
in violation of Section 11-1.40 or 12-14.1 of the Criminal
Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012; (6) heinous
battery of any child in violation of the Criminal Code of
1961; (7) aggravated battery of any child in violation of
the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012; (8)
any violation of Section 11-1.20 or Section 12-13 of the
Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012; (9) any
violation of subsection (a) of Section 11-1.50 or Section
12-16 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of
2012; (10) any violation of Section 11-9.1 of the Criminal
Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012; (11) any
violation of Section 11-9.1A of the Criminal Code of 1961
or the Criminal Code of 2012; or (12) an offense in any
other state the elements of which are similar and bear a
substantial relationship to any of the enumerated offenses
in this subsection (i).
There is a rebuttable presumption that a parent is
depraved if the parent has been criminally convicted of at
least 3 felonies under the laws of this State or any other

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state, or under federal law, or the criminal laws of any
United States territory; and at least one of these
convictions took place within 5 years of the filing of the
petition or motion seeking termination of parental rights.
There is a rebuttable presumption that a parent is
depraved if that parent has been criminally convicted of
either first or second degree murder of any person as
defined in the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code
of 2012 within 10 years of the filing date of the petition
or motion to terminate parental rights.
No conviction or finding of delinquency pursuant to
Article 5 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 shall be
considered a criminal conviction for the purpose of
applying any presumption under this item (i).
(j) Open and notorious adultery or fornication.
(j-1) (Blank).
(k) Habitual drunkenness or addiction to drugs, other
than those prescribed by a physician, for at least one year
immediately prior to the commencement of the unfitness
proceeding.
There is a rebuttable presumption that a parent is
unfit under this subsection with respect to any child to
which that parent gives birth where there is a confirmed
test result that at birth the child's blood, urine, or
meconium contained any amount of a controlled substance as
defined in subsection (f) of Section 102 of the Illinois

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Controlled Substances Act or metabolites of such
substances, the presence of which in the newborn infant was
not the result of medical treatment administered to the
mother or the newborn infant; and the biological mother of
this child is the biological mother of at least one other
child who was adjudicated a neglected minor under
subsection (c) of Section 2-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of
1987.
(l) Failure to demonstrate a reasonable degree of
interest, concern or responsibility as to the welfare of a
new born child during the first 30 days after its birth.
(m) Failure by a parent (i) to make reasonable efforts
to correct the conditions that were the basis for the
removal of the child from the parent during any 9-month
period following the adjudication of neglected or abused
minor under Section 2-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987
or dependent minor under Section 2-4 of that Act, or (ii)
to make reasonable progress toward the return of the child
to the parent during any 9-month period following the
adjudication of neglected or abused minor under Section 2-3
of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987 or dependent minor under
Section 2-4 of that Act. If a service plan has been
established as required under Section 8.2 of the Abused and
Neglected Child Reporting Act to correct the conditions
that were the basis for the removal of the child from the
parent and if those services were available, then, for

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purposes of this Act, "failure to make reasonable progress
toward the return of the child to the parent" includes the
parent's failure to substantially fulfill his or her
obligations under the service plan and correct the
conditions that brought the child into care during any
9-month period following the adjudication under Section
2-3 or 2-4 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
Notwithstanding any other provision, when a petition or
motion seeks to terminate parental rights on the basis of
item (ii) of this subsection (m), the petitioner shall file
with the court and serve on the parties a pleading that
specifies the 9-month period or periods relied on. The
pleading shall be filed and served on the parties no later
than 3 weeks before the date set by the court for closure
of discovery, and the allegations in the pleading shall be
treated as incorporated into the petition or motion.
Failure of a respondent to file a written denial of the
allegations in the pleading shall not be treated as an
admission that the allegations are true.
(m-1) (Blank).
(n) Evidence of intent to forgo his or her parental
rights, whether or not the child is a ward of the court,
(1) as manifested by his or her failure for a period of 12
months: (i) to visit the child, (ii) to communicate with
the child or agency, although able to do so and not
prevented from doing so by an agency or by court order, or

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(iii) to maintain contact with or plan for the future of
the child, although physically able to do so, or (2) as
manifested by the father's failure, where he and the mother
of the child were unmarried to each other at the time of
the child's birth, (i) to commence legal proceedings to
establish his paternity under the Illinois Parentage Act of
1984, the Illinois Parentage Act of 2015, or the law of the
jurisdiction of the child's birth within 30 days of being
informed, pursuant to Section 12a of this Act, that he is
the father or the likely father of the child or, after
being so informed where the child is not yet born, within
30 days of the child's birth, or (ii) to make a good faith
effort to pay a reasonable amount of the expenses related
to the birth of the child and to provide a reasonable
amount for the financial support of the child, the court to
consider in its determination all relevant circumstances,
including the financial condition of both parents;
provided that the ground for termination provided in this
subparagraph (n)(2)(ii) shall only be available where the
petition is brought by the mother or the husband of the
mother.
Contact or communication by a parent with his or her
child that does not demonstrate affection and concern does
not constitute reasonable contact and planning under
subdivision (n). In the absence of evidence to the
contrary, the ability to visit, communicate, maintain

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contact, pay expenses and plan for the future shall be
presumed. The subjective intent of the parent, whether
expressed or otherwise, unsupported by evidence of the
foregoing parental acts manifesting that intent, shall not
preclude a determination that the parent has intended to
forgo his or her parental rights. In making this
determination, the court may consider but shall not require
a showing of diligent efforts by an authorized agency to
encourage the parent to perform the acts specified in
subdivision (n).
It shall be an affirmative defense to any allegation
under paragraph (2) of this subsection that the father's
failure was due to circumstances beyond his control or to
impediments created by the mother or any other person
having legal custody. Proof of that fact need only be by a
preponderance of the evidence.
(o) Repeated or continuous failure by the parents,
although physically and financially able, to provide the
child with adequate food, clothing, or shelter.
(p) Inability to discharge parental responsibilities
supported by competent evidence from a psychiatrist,
licensed clinical social worker, or clinical psychologist
of mental impairment, mental illness or an intellectual
disability as defined in Section 1-116 of the Mental Health
and Developmental Disabilities Code, or developmental
disability as defined in Section 1-106 of that Code, and

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there is sufficient justification to believe that the
inability to discharge parental responsibilities shall
extend beyond a reasonable time period. However, this
subdivision (p) shall not be construed so as to permit a
licensed clinical social worker to conduct any medical
diagnosis to determine mental illness or mental
impairment.
(q) (Blank).
(r) The child is in the temporary custody or
guardianship of the Department of Children and Family
Services, the parent is incarcerated as a result of
criminal conviction at the time the petition or motion for
termination of parental rights is filed, prior to
incarceration the parent had little or no contact with the
child or provided little or no support for the child, and
the parent's incarceration will prevent the parent from
discharging his or her parental responsibilities for the
child for a period in excess of 2 years after the filing of
the petition or motion for termination of parental rights.
(s) The child is in the temporary custody or
guardianship of the Department of Children and Family
Services, the parent is incarcerated at the time the
petition or motion for termination of parental rights is
filed, the parent has been repeatedly incarcerated as a
result of criminal convictions, and the parent's repeated
incarceration has prevented the parent from discharging

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his or her parental responsibilities for the child.
(t) A finding that at birth the child's blood, urine,
or meconium contained any amount of a controlled substance
as defined in subsection (f) of Section 102 of the Illinois
Controlled Substances Act, or a metabolite of a controlled
substance, with the exception of controlled substances or
metabolites of such substances, the presence of which in
the newborn infant was the result of medical treatment
administered to the mother or the newborn infant, and that
the biological mother of this child is the biological
mother of at least one other child who was adjudicated a
neglected minor under subsection (c) of Section 2-3 of the
Juvenile Court Act of 1987, after which the biological
mother had the opportunity to enroll in and participate in
a clinically appropriate substance abuse counseling,
treatment, and rehabilitation program.
E. "Parent" means a person who is the legal mother or legal
father of the child as defined in subsection X or Y of this
Section. For the purpose of this Act, a parent who has executed
a consent to adoption, a surrender, or a waiver pursuant to
Section 10 of this Act, who has signed a Denial of Paternity
pursuant to Section 12 of the Vital Records Act or Section 12a
of this Act, or whose parental rights have been terminated by a
court, is not a parent of the child who was the subject of the
consent, surrender, waiver, or denial unless (1) the consent is
void pursuant to subsection O of Section 10 of this Act; or (2)

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the person executed a consent to adoption by a specified person
or persons pursuant to subsection A-1 of Section 10 of this Act
and a court of competent jurisdiction finds that the consent is
void; or (3) the order terminating the parental rights of the
person is vacated by a court of competent jurisdiction.
F. A person is available for adoption when the person is:
(a) a child who has been surrendered for adoption to an
agency and to whose adoption the agency has thereafter
consented;
(b) a child to whose adoption a person authorized by
law, other than his parents, has consented, or to whose
adoption no consent is required pursuant to Section 8 of
this Act;
(c) a child who is in the custody of persons who intend
to adopt him through placement made by his parents;
(c-1) a child for whom a parent has signed a specific
consent pursuant to subsection O of Section 10;
(d) an adult who meets the conditions set forth in
Section 3 of this Act; or
(e) a child who has been relinquished as defined in
Section 10 of the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act.
A person who would otherwise be available for adoption
shall not be deemed unavailable for adoption solely by reason
of his or her death.
G. The singular includes the plural and the plural includes
the singular and the "male" includes the "female", as the

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context of this Act may require.
H. (Blank).
I. "Habitual residence" has the meaning ascribed to it in
the federal Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 and regulations
promulgated thereunder.
J. "Immediate relatives" means the biological parents, the
parents of the biological parents and siblings of the
biological parents.
K. "Intercountry adoption" is a process by which a child
from a country other than the United States is adopted by
persons who are habitual residents of the United States, or the
child is a habitual resident of the United States who is
adopted by persons who are habitual residents of a country
other than the United States.
L. (Blank).
M. "Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children" is a
law enacted by all states and certain territories for the
purpose of establishing uniform procedures for handling the
interstate placement of children in foster homes, adoptive
homes, or other child care facilities.
N. (Blank).
O. "Preadoption requirements" means any conditions or
standards established by the laws or administrative rules of
this State that must be met by a prospective adoptive parent
prior to the placement of a child in an adoptive home.
P. "Abused child" means a child whose parent or immediate

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family member, or any person responsible for the child's
welfare, or any individual residing in the same home as the
child, or a paramour of the child's parent:
(a) inflicts, causes to be inflicted, or allows to be
inflicted upon the child physical injury, by other than
accidental means, that causes death, disfigurement,
impairment of physical or emotional health, or loss or
impairment of any bodily function;
(b) creates a substantial risk of physical injury to
the child by other than accidental means which would be
likely to cause death, disfigurement, impairment of
physical or emotional health, or loss or impairment of any
bodily function;
(c) commits or allows to be committed any sex offense
against the child, as sex offenses are defined in the
Criminal Code of 2012 and extending those definitions of
sex offenses to include children under 18 years of age;
(d) commits or allows to be committed an act or acts of
torture upon the child; or
(e) inflicts excessive corporal punishment.
Q. "Neglected child" means any child whose parent or other
person responsible for the child's welfare withholds or denies
nourishment or medically indicated treatment including food or
care denied solely on the basis of the present or anticipated
mental or physical impairment as determined by a physician
acting alone or in consultation with other physicians or

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otherwise does not provide the proper or necessary support,
education as required by law, or medical or other remedial care
recognized under State law as necessary for a child's
well-being, or other care necessary for his or her well-being,
including adequate food, clothing and shelter; or who is
abandoned by his or her parents or other person responsible for
the child's welfare.
A child shall not be considered neglected or abused for the
sole reason that the child's parent or other person responsible
for his or her welfare depends upon spiritual means through
prayer alone for the treatment or cure of disease or remedial
care as provided under Section 4 of the Abused and Neglected
Child Reporting Act. A child shall not be considered neglected
or abused for the sole reason that the child's parent or other
person responsible for the child's welfare failed to vaccinate,
delayed vaccination, or refused vaccination for the child due
to a waiver on religious or medical grounds as permitted by
law.
R. "Putative father" means a man who may be a child's
father, but who (1) is not married to the child's mother on or
before the date that the child was or is to be born and (2) has
not established paternity of the child in a court proceeding
before the filing of a petition for the adoption of the child.
The term includes a male who is less than 18 years of age.
"Putative father" does not mean a man who is the child's father
as a result of criminal sexual abuse or assault as defined

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under Article 11 of the Criminal Code of 2012.
S. "Standby adoption" means an adoption in which a parent
consents to custody and termination of parental rights to
become effective upon the occurrence of a future event, which
is either the death of the parent or the request of the parent
for the entry of a final judgment of adoption.
T. (Blank).
T-5. "Biological parent", "birth parent", or "natural
parent" of a child are interchangeable terms that mean a person
who is biologically or genetically related to that child as a
parent.
U. "Interstate adoption" means the placement of a minor
child with a prospective adoptive parent for the purpose of
pursuing an adoption for that child that is subject to the
provisions of the Interstate Compact on the Placement of
Children.
V. (Blank).
W. (Blank).
X. "Legal father" of a child means a man who is recognized
as or presumed to be that child's father:
(1) because of his marriage to or civil union with the
child's parent at the time of the child's birth or within
300 days prior to that child's birth, unless he signed a
denial of paternity pursuant to Section 12 of the Vital
Records Act or a waiver pursuant to Section 10 of this Act;
or

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(2) because his paternity of the child has been
established pursuant to the Illinois Parentage Act, the
Illinois Parentage Act of 1984, or the Gestational
Surrogacy Act; or
(3) because he is listed as the child's father or
parent on the child's birth certificate, unless he is
otherwise determined by an administrative or judicial
proceeding not to be the parent of the child or unless he
rescinds his acknowledgment of paternity pursuant to the
Illinois Parentage Act of 1984; or
(4) because his paternity or adoption of the child has
been established by a court of competent jurisdiction.
The definition in this subsection X shall not be construed
to provide greater or lesser rights as to the number of parents
who can be named on a final judgment order of adoption or
Illinois birth certificate that otherwise exist under Illinois
law.
Y. "Legal mother" of a child means a woman who is
recognized as or presumed to be that child's mother:
(1) because she gave birth to the child except as
provided in the Gestational Surrogacy Act; or
(2) because her maternity of the child has been
established pursuant to the Illinois Parentage Act of 1984
or the Gestational Surrogacy Act; or
(3) because her maternity or adoption of the child has
been established by a court of competent jurisdiction; or

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(4) because of her marriage to or civil union with the
child's other parent at the time of the child's birth or
within 300 days prior to the time of birth; or
(5) because she is listed as the child's mother or
parent on the child's birth certificate unless she is
otherwise determined by an administrative or judicial
proceeding not to be the parent of the child.
The definition in this subsection Y shall not be construed
to provide greater or lesser rights as to the number of parents
who can be named on a final judgment order of adoption or
Illinois birth certificate that otherwise exist under Illinois
law.
Z. "Department" means the Illinois Department of Children
and Family Services.
AA. "Placement disruption" means a circumstance where the
child is removed from an adoptive placement before the adoption
is finalized.
BB. "Secondary placement" means a placement, including but
not limited to the placement of a youth in care as defined in
Section 4d of the Children and Family Services Act, that occurs
after a placement disruption or an adoption dissolution.
"Secondary placement" does not mean secondary placements
arising due to the death of the adoptive parent of the child.
CC. "Adoption dissolution" means a circumstance where the
child is removed from an adoptive placement after the adoption
is finalized.

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DD. "Unregulated placement" means the secondary placement
of a child that occurs without the oversight of the courts, the
Department, or a licensed child welfare agency.
EE. "Post-placement and post-adoption support services"
means support services for placed or adopted children and
families that include, but are not limited to, mental health
treatment, including counseling and other support services for
emotional, behavioral, or developmental needs, and treatment
for substance abuse.
(Source: P.A. 100-159, eff. 8-18-17; 101-155, eff. 1-1-20;
101-529, eff. 1-1-20; revised 9-17-19.)