Sen. Sara Feigenholtz

Amends the Adoption Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning who may adopt a child.

Amends the Illinois Act on the Aging. In provisions concerning the Community Care Program, provides that in regard to reforms of service delivery and changes to the State's home and community based services waiver, the Community Care Program shall ensure the availability of services to clients of the program, including, but not limited to: assistance in the home, adult day services, emergency home response, community reintegration services, and medication management. Provides that these services shall be made available to clients that demonstrate a need for them regardless of the model of service delivery or federal waiver under which their care is delivered. Effective immediately.

Amends the Illinois Public Aid Code. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the purpose of the "Medicaid" Article.

Amends the Illinois Clinical Laboratory and Blood Bank Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title. Amends the AIDS Confidentiality Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title. Amends the Genetic Information Privacy Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.

Amends the Wildlife Code. Adds the Gray wolf, American black bear, and Cougar to the list of protected species under the Act.

Amends the Liquor Control Act of 1934 and the Freedom of Information Act. Requires all alcohol servers to obtain and complete training in basic responsible alcohol service. Provides that the Illinois Liquor Control Commission shall only approve training programs that meet certain specified criteria for content, method of instruction, and ability to provide information about whether a server has completed the training program. Provides that materials submitted to the Commission for training program approval shall be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. Requires the Commission to issue a State seal file and approval number to providers who are approved to conduct a responsible alcohol service training program. Provides that a certificate of training is valid for 3 years. Provides that before January 1, 2016, enforcement of the provisions shall be limited to education and notification of the requirements. Makes other changes. Effective immediately.

Amends the Children and Family Services Act. In provisions concerning scholarships and fee waivers, provides that each year the Department of Children and Family Services shall select a minimum of 53 students (at least 4 of whom shall be children of veterans) to receive scholarships and fee waivers which will enable them to attend and complete their post-secondary education at a community college, university, or college (rather than may select from among the youth under care, youth who aged out of care at age 18 or older, or youth formerly under care who have been adopted or are in a guardianship placement, a maximum of 48 students (at least 4 of whom shall be children of veterans) who have earned a high school diploma from a public school district or a recognized nonpublic school or a certificate of general education development (GED), or who have met the State criteria for high school graduation). Provides that youth shall be selected from among the youth for whom the Department has court-ordered legal responsibility, youth in the KinGap program, youth who aged out of care at age 18 or older, or youth formerly under care who have been adopted; and that recipients must have earned a high school diploma from an accredited institution, a General Education Development certificate or diploma, or have met the State criteria for high school graduation before the start of the school year for which they are applying for the scholarship and waiver. Provides that scholarships and fee waivers shall be available to students for at least 5 years, provided they are continuing to work toward graduation; and that unused scholarship dollars and fee waivers shall be reallocated to new recipients. Contains provisions concerning the selection committee and Department reports on measures of success.

Amends the Child Care Act of 1969. Provides that "related" includes relationships by civil union and adds stepgrandparents and second cousins to the list of relatives included in the definition. Provides that a person is related to a child as a first cousin or a second cousin if they are both related to the same ancestor as either grandchild or great-grandchild. Provides that a child whose parent has executed a consent, a surrender, or a waiver under the Adoption Act or whose parent has had his or her parental rights terminated is not a related child to that person, unless certain exceptions apply. Amends the Adoption Act. Changes the definition of "related child" and "parent" and defines "legal father", and "legal mother". Provides that the terms "biological parent", "birth parent", and "natural parent" are interchangeable terms that mean a person who is biologically or genetically related to that child as a parent. Provides that certain residence requirements do not apply if the child to be adopted has resided in this State for a period of 6 months immediately preceding the commencement of the adoption proceeding or since birth if the child is not yet 6 months of age. Replaces the provisions of a Section concerning jurisdiction and venue with provisions stating that an adoption proceeding may be commenced in any county in this State.

Amends the Children and Family Services Act. Provides that when a child is voluntarily placed in out-of-home care funded by the Department of Children and Family Services for the purpose of obtaining mental health treatment for the child or treatment for the child's developmental disability, the Department is prohibited from requesting, recommending, or requiring that a parent terminate his or her parental rights with respect to the child or that a parent or legal guardian transfer legal custody of the child to the Department. Provides that a child voluntarily placed in out-of-home care shall be placed pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement voluntarily entered into by the parents or legal guardian of the child. Provides that for a child to remain in out-of-home care for longer than 180 days, a juvenile court must make a judicial determination within the first 180 days of the placement that the placement is in the best interests of the child. Requires the Department to report annually to the General Assembly concerning (i) the number of children who were voluntarily placed in out-of-home care funded by the Department and (ii) the number of parents or legal guardians who relinquished custody of their child for the purpose of seeking mental health treatment for the child or treatment for the child's developmental disability. Contains provisions concerning: an interagency agreement between specified State agencies to prevent children from becoming wards of the State and entering the child welfare system solely for purpose of treatment of a child's serious mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, or developmental disability; certain protocols that must be included in the interagency agreement; and additional reporting requirements. Effective immediately.

Amends the Counties Code. Provides that a county board may by ordinance adopt a code of conduct regarding the accountability, fiscal responsibility, procurement authority, transparency, and ethical conduct of county appointees in addition to those mandated by law for and applicable to the appointees of any unit of local government. Provides that appointees appointed by a county board chairman or county executive, with or without the consent of the county board, may be removed from office for violating the code of conduct by the county board chairman or county executive with concurrence by a majority vote of the county board. Requires that reasonable notice of the violation and a hearing before the county board or its designee shall be provided to the appointee prior to the vote. Provides that appointees appointed by the county board may be removed by a majority vote of the county board for violating the code of conduct after providing the appointee with reasonable notice of the violation and a hearing before the county board or its designee.