Public Act No. 24-126 Summary

• Increases State Advisory Council on Children and Families from 20 to 25 members, adding representatives from Youth Advisory Boards, child welfare advocacy organizations, and ensuring at least four members are parents or family members who received behavioral health or child welfare services.

• Expands council duties to include conducting data reviews on child safety, well-being, and permanency at least twice per year and annual evaluations of the Department of Children and Families' child protection responsibilities.

• Adds new privacy disclosure provisions allowing individuals to request information about child fatalities and near-fatalities involving abuse or neglect, limited to cause, circumstances, age, gender, prior reports, investigation findings, and state services provided.

• Enhances court procedures in child welfare cases by requiring courts to confirm children's attorneys have adequate understanding of cases, expanding information requirements for permanency planning documents, and establishing new reporting obligations for the Department of Children and Families.

• Establishes two working groups: one to review data on Department of Children and Families effectiveness (report due January 1, 2025) and one to review legal services delivery to children in child protection proceedings (report due November 1, 2024).