IL HB5177

Creates the Aligning Recommendations with Children's Actual Clinical and Emergency Needs and Determinations (ARC-ACEND) Act for custody disputes involving children with serious medical conditions

Requires all custody recommendations from guardians ad litem, child representatives, evaluators, and mediators to be certified by a qualified medical provider as consistent with the child's clinical needs before courts can consider them

Establishes that medical consistency supersedes all other factors in custody decisions, including geography, parental preferences, logistical convenience, and co-parenting balance considerations

Creates a presumption that separating a child with a serious medical condition from the "safe parent" primarily responsible for their day-to-day medical care is contrary to the child's best interests, rebuttable only by clear and convincing medical evidence

Defines serious medical conditions to include chronic and behavioral health conditions such as Type 1 Diabetes, epilepsy, major depressive disorder, autism spectrum disorder, and ADHD