IL HB2543

Department of Children and Family Services must place children with relatives who are ready, willing, and able to care for them, with reasonable efforts to identify, locate, and provide notice to all adult grandparents and other adult relatives when assuming initial custody and at each placement change.

Department must document efforts to identify and locate potential relative placements and maintain documentation in the child's case file; if a relative placement is rejected, the Department must document the basis for that decision.

In administrative appeals of decisions to deny relative placement, the Department bears the burden of proving the decision is consistent with the child's best interests.

Department cannot place a child with a relative who has prior criminal convictions for specified offenses including murder, sex offenses, kidnapping, child abuse, and other violent crimes, though certain circumstances may be waived by Department rules.

Fictive kin (unrelated individuals with close personal or emotional ties to the child or family) may be considered for placement and must apply for foster family home licensure within 6 months, though failure to obtain licensure is not grounds for removal.