Illinois HB 4569: DCFS-CHILD DEATH REVIEWS

Bill Text

Full Text of HB4569 

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 Illinois General Assembly

 ILGA.GOV 

 HB4569 - 104th General Assembly 

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 
State of Illinois 
2025 and 2026
HB4569

Introduced 1/30/2026, by Rep. Suzanne M. Ness 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

325 ILCS 5/4.2

 Amends the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Provides that upon notification of a child's death through the State Central Register that is subsequently accepted for investigation of abuse or neglect, the Department of Children and Family Services shall conduct a formal review of all available internal records if any of the following conditions are present: (i) the deceased child was a youth in care at the time of death; (ii) the deceased child or the child's parent is or has been the subject of a permanency or intact family case with the Department; or (iii) the Department has a history of one or more prior investigations of abuse or neglect involving the deceased child or the child's parents. Requires the Department to evaluate the quality, timeliness, and appropriateness of previous actions taken and services provided to address identified safety and risk issues. Contains provisions concerning information that the Department must include in its report, including, but not limited to, the manner of the child's death, a summary of the abuse or neglect report made to the State Central Register, and other information. Requires the Department to complete its review within 10 days of receiving a case. Contains provisions requiring annual reports. Removes provisions concerning reporting requirements on cases where a child has experienced a life-threatening injury.

LRB104 16805 KTG 30214 b

A BILL FOR

HB4569LRB104 16805 KTG 30214 b

1 AN ACT concerning children.

2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 

3represented in the General Assembly:

4 Section 5. The Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act is 

5amended by changing Section 4.2 as follows:

6 (325 ILCS 5/4.2)

7 Sec. 4.2. Departmental report on death or serious 

8life-threatening injury of child. 

9 (a) When the Department is notified through the State 

10Central Register of the death of a child and the report is 

11accepted for investigation of abuse or neglect, the Department 

12shall conduct a formal review of all available internal 

13records if any of the following conditions are present:

14 (1) The deceased child was a youth in care at the time 

15 of death, regardless of the youth's age.

16 (2) The deceased child or the child's parent is or has 

17 been the subject of a permanency or intact family case 

18 with the Department.

19 (3) The Department has a history of one or more prior 

20 investigations of abuse or neglect involving the deceased 

21 child or the child's parents.

22 The formal review shall evaluate the quality, timeliness, 

23and appropriateness of previous actions taken and services 

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1provided by the Department to address identified safety and 

2risk issues.

3 In the case of the death or serious life-threatening 

4injury of a child whose care and custody or custody and 

5guardianship has been transferred to the Department, or in the 

6case of a child abuse or neglect report made to the central 

7register involving the death of a child, the Department shall 

8(i) investigate or provide for an investigation of the cause 

9of and circumstances surrounding the death or serious 

10life-threatening injury, (ii) review the investigation, and 

11(iii) prepare and issue a report on the death or serious 

12life-threatening injury.

13 (b) The report shall include: 

14 (1) (i) the manner cause of death or serious 

15 life-threatening injury, whether from natural, accident, 

16 suicide, homicide, or undetermined or other causes ;

17 (2) a brief summary of the report to the State Central 

18 Register involving the death of the child; , (ii) any 

19 extraordinary or pertinent information concerning the 

20 circumstances of the child's death or serious 

21 life-threatening injury

22 (3) , (iii) identification of any prior actions taken 

23 or child protective or other social services provided by 

24 the Department to the deceased child or parents and an 

25 evaluation of the quality, timeliness, and appropriateness 

26 of actions taken or services provided to address 

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1 identified issues; or actions taken regarding the child or 

2 the child's family at the time of the death or serious 

3 life-threatening injury or within the preceding 5 years,

4 (4) identification of underlying conditions, such as 

5 multigenerational child welfare involvement, paramour 

6 involvement, domestic violence, mental health issues, 

7 substance use, economic stability, and developmental 

8 disabilities; (iv) any action or further investigation 

9 undertaken by the Department since the death or serious 

10 life-threatening injury of the