SB3706: ADOPTION-CONFIDENTIAL INTERMED

SB3706 Enrolled LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b 1 AN ACT concerning civil law. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Adoption Act is amended by changing Section 5 18.3a as follows: 6 (750 ILCS 50/18.3a) (from Ch. 40, par. 1522.3a) 7 Sec. 18.3a. Confidential intermediary. 8 (a) General purposes. Notwithstanding any other provision 9 of this Act, 10 (1) any adopted or surrendered person 21 years of age 11 or over; or 12 (2) any adoptive parent or legal guardian of an 13 adopted or surrendered person under the age of 21; or 14 (3) any birth parent of an adopted or surrendered 15 person who is 21 years of age or over; or 16 (4) any adult child or adult grandchild of a deceased 17 adopted or surrendered person; or 18 (5) any adoptive parent or surviving spouse of a 19 deceased adopted or surrendered person; or 20 (6) any adult birth sibling of the adult adopted or 21 surrendered person unless the birth parent has checked 22 Option E on the Birth Parent Preference Form or has filed a 23 Denial of Information Exchange with the Registry and is SB3706 Enrolled - 2 - LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b 1 not deceased; or 2 (7) any adult adopted birth sibling of an adult 3 adopted or surrendered person; or 4 (8) any adult birth sibling of the birth parent if the 5 birth parent is deceased; or 6 (9) any birth grandparent 7 may petition the court in any county in the State of Illinois 8 for appointment of a confidential intermediary as provided in 9 this Section for the purpose of exchanging medical information 10 with one or more mutually consenting biological relatives, 11 obtaining identifying information about one or more mutually 12 consenting biological relatives, or arranging contact with one 13 or more mutually consenting biological relatives. The 14 petitioner shall be required to accompany his or her petition 15 with proof of registration with the Illinois Adoption Registry 16 and Medical Information Exchange. 17 (a-4) The adoptive parent or legal guardian of an adopted 18 or surrendered person under the age of 21 may also petition the 19 court for the appointment of a confidential intermediary for 20 purposes of obtaining identifying information or arranging 21 contact with a mutually consenting adoptive parent or legal 22 guardian of a birth sibling of the petitioner's adopted or 23 surrendered child under the age of 21. 24 (a-5) In addition, any former youth in care as defined in 25 Section 4d of the Children and Family Services Act who was 26 adopted or surrendered may petition the court in any county in SB3706 Enrolled - 3 - LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b 1 the State for appointment of a confidential intermediary as 2 provided in this Section for the purposes of obtaining 3 identifying information or arranging contact with (i) siblings 4 or birth relatives if the former youth in care is between the 5 ages of 18 and 21 or (ii) former foster parents or foster 6 siblings if the former youth in care is over the age of 18. A 7 petitioner under this subsection is not required to register 8 with the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information 9 Exchange. 10 (b) Petition. Upon petition, the court shall appoint a 11 confidential intermediary. The petition shall indicate if the 12 petitioner wants to do any one or more of the following as to 13 the sought-after relative or relatives: exchange medical 14 information with the biological relative or relatives, obtain 15 identifying information from the biological relative or 16 relatives, or to arrange contact with the biological relative. 17 (c) Order. The order appointing the confidential 18 intermediary shall allow that intermediary to conduct a search 19 for the sought-after relative by accessing those records 20 described in subsection (g) of this Section. 21 (d) Fees and expenses. The court shall not condition the 22 appointment of the confidential intermediary on the payment of 23 the intermediary's fees and expenses in advance of the 24 commencement of the work of the confidential intermediary. No 25 fee shall be charged to any petitioner. 26 (e) Eligibility of intermediary. The court may appoint as SB3706 Enrolled - 4 - LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b 1 confidential intermediary any person certified by the 2 Department of Children and Family Services as qualified to 3 serve as a confidential intermediary. Certification shall be 4 dependent upon the confidential intermediary completing a 5 course of training including, but not limited to, applicable 6 federal and State privacy laws. 7 (f) (Blank). 8 (g) Confidential intermediary access to information. 9 Subject to the limitations of subsection (i) of this Section, 10 the confidential intermediary shall have access to vital 11 records maintained by the Department of Public Health and its 12 local designees for the maintenance of vital records, or a 13 comparable public entity that maintains vital records in 14 another state in accordance with that state's laws, and all 15 records of the court or any adoption agency, public or 16 private, as limited in this Section, which relate to the 17 adoption or the identity and location of an adopted or 18 surrendered person, of an adult child or surviving spouse of a 19 deceased adopted or surrendered person, or of a birth parent, 20 birth sibling, or the sibling of a deceased birth parent. The 21 confidential intermediary shall not have access to any 22 personal health information protected by the Standards for 23 Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information 24 adopted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 25 under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act 26 of 1996 unless the confidential intermediary has obtained SB3706 Enrolled - 5 - LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b 1 written consent from the person whose information is being 2 sought by an adult adopted or surrendered person or, if that 3 person is a minor child, that person's parent or guardian. 4 Confidential intermediaries shall be authorized to inspect 5 confidential relinquishment and adoption records. The 6 confidential intermediary shall not be authorized to access 7 medical records, financial records, credit records, banking 8 records, home studies, attorney file records, or other 9 personal records. In cases where a birth parent is being 10 sought, an adoption agency shall inform the confidential 11 intermediary of any statement filed pursuant to Section 18.3, 12 hereinafter referred to as "the 18.3 statement", indicating a 13 desire of the surrendering birth parent to have identifying 14 information shared or to not have identifying information 15 shared. Information provided to the confidential intermediary 16 by an adoption agency shall be restricted to the full name, 17 date of birth, place of birth, last known address, last known 18 telephone number of the sought-after relative or, if 19 applicable, of the children or siblings of the sought-after 20 relative, and the 18.3 statement. If the petitioner is an 21 adult adopted or surrendered person or the adoptive parent of 22 a minor and if the petitioner has signed a written 23 authorization to disclose personal medical information, an 24 adoption agency disclosing information to a confidential 25 intermediary shall disclose available medical information 26 about the adopted or surrendered person from birth through SB3706 Enrolled - 6 - LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b 1 adoption. 2 (h) Disclosure of information Missing or lost original 3 birth certificate; remedy . Disclosure of information by the 4 confidential intermediary shall be consistent with the public 5 policy and intent of laws granting original birth certificate 6 access as expressed in Section 18.04 of this Act. The 7 confidential intermediary shall comply with the following 8 procedures in disclosing information to the petitioners: 9 (1) If the petitioner is an adult adopted or 10 surrendered person, or the adult child, adult grandchild, 11 or surviving spouse of a deceased adopted or surrendered 12 person, the confidential intermediary shall disclose: 13 (A) Missing or lost original birth certificate; 14 remedy. Identifying identifying information about the 15 birth parent of the adopted person and about the adult 16 adopted or surrendered person, which, in the ordinary 17 course of business, would have been reflected on the 18 original filed certificate of birth, as of the date of 19 birth, only if: 20 (i) the adopted person was born before January 21 1, 1946 and the petitioner has requested a 22 non-certified copy of the adopted person's 23 original birth certificate under Section 18.1 of 24 this Act, and the Illinois Department of Public 25 Health has issued a certification that the 26 original birth certificate was not found, or the SB3706 Enrolled - 7 - LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b 1 petitioner has presented the confidential 2 intermediary with the non-certified copy of the 3 original birth certificate which omits the name of 4 the birth parent; 5 (ii) the adopted person was born after January 6 1, 1946, and the petitioner has requested a 7 non-certified copy of the adopted person's 8 original birth certificate under Section 18.1 of 9 this Act and the Illinois Department of Public 10 Health has issued a certification that the 11 original birth certificate was not found. 12 In providing information pursuant to this 13 subdivision (h)(1)(A), the confidential intermediary 14 shall expressly inform the petitioner in writing that 15 since the identifying information is not from an 16 official original certificate of birth filed pursuant 17 to the Vital Records Act, the confidential 18 intermediary cannot attest to the complete accuracy of 19 the information and the confidential intermediary 20 shall not be liable if the information disclosed is 21 not accurate. Only information from the court files 22 shall be provided to the petitioner in this Section. 23 If the identifying information concerning a birth 24 father is sought by the petitioner, the confidential 25 intermediary shall disclose only the identifying 26 information of the birth father as defined in Section SB3706 Enrolled - 8 - LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b 1 18.06 of this Act; 2 (B) the name of the child welfare agency which had 3 legal custody of the surrendered person or 4 responsibility for placing , or assisting in the 5 placement of, the surrendered person and any available 6 contact information for such agency; 7 (C) the name of the state in which the surrender 8 occurred and or in which the adoption was finalized; 9 and 10 (D) any information for which the sought-after 11 relative has provided his or her consent to disclose 12 under paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (i) of 13 this Section. 14 (2) If the petitioner is an adult adopted or 15 surrendered person, or the adoptive parent of an adult 16 adopted or surrendered person under the age of 21, or the 17 adoptive parent of a deceased adopted or surrendered 18 person, or the adult child or grandchild of a deceased 19 adopted or surrendered person, the confidential 20 intermediary shall provide, in addition to the information 21 listed in paragraph (1) of this subsection (h): 22 (A) subject to subsection (g), any information 23 which the adoption agency provides pursuant to 24 subsection (i) of this Section pertaining to medical 25 information about the adopted or surrendered person; 26 and SB3706 Enrolled - 9 - LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b 1 (B) any non-identifying information, as defined in 2 Section 18.4 of this Act, that is obtained during the 3 search. 4 (3) If the petitioner is not defined in paragraph (1) 5 or (2) of this subsection, the confidential intermediary 6 shall provide to the petitioner: 7 (A) any information for which the sought-after 8 relative has provided his or her consent under 9 paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (i) of this 10 Section; 11 (B) the name of the child welfare agency which had 12 legal custody of the surrendered person or 13 responsibility for placing , or assisting in the 14 placement of, the surrendered person and any available 15 contact information for such agency; and 16 (C) the name of the state in which the surrender 17 occurred or in which the adoption was finalized. 18 (h-5) Disclosure of information shall be made by the 19 confidential intermediary at any time from the appointment of 20 the confidential intermediary and the court's issuance of an 21 order of dismissal. 22 (i) Duties of confidential intermediary in conducting a 23 search. In conducting a search under this Section, the 24 confidential intermediary shall first determine whether there 25 is a Denial of Information Exchange or a Birth Parent 26 Preference Form with Option E selected or an 18.3 statement SB3706 Enrolled - 10 - LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b 1 referenced in subsection (g) of this Section on file with the 2 Illinois Adoption Registry. If there is a denial, the Birth 3 Parent Preference Form on file with the Registry and the birth 4 parent who completed the form selected Option E, or if there is 5 an 18.3 statement indicating the birth parent's intent not to 6 have identifying information shared and the birth parent did 7 not later file an Information Exchange Authorization with the 8 Registry, the confidential intermediary must discontinue the 9 search unless 5 years or more have elapsed since the execution 10 of the Denial of Information Exchange, Birth Parent Preference 11 Form, or the 18.3 statement. If a birth parent was previously 12 the subject of a search through the State confidential 13 intermediary program, the confidential intermediary shall 14 inform the petitioner of the need to discontinue the search 15 until 10 years or more have elapsed since the initial search 16 was closed. In cases where a birth parent has been the object 17 of 2 searches through the State confidential intermediary 18 program, no subsequent search for the birth parent shall be 19 authorized absent a court order to the contrary. 20 In conducting a search under this Section, the 21 confidential intermediary shall attempt to locate the relative 22 or relatives from whom the petitioner has requested 23 information. If the sought-after relative is deceased or 24 cannot be located after a diligent search, the confidential 25 intermediary may contact other adult relatives of the 26 sought-after relative. SB3706 Enrolled - 11 - LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b 1 The confidential intermediary shall contact a sought-after 2 relative on behalf of the petitioner in a manner that respects 3 the sought-after relative's privacy and shall inform the 4 sought-after relative of the petitioner's request for medical 5 information, identifying information or contact as stated in 6 the petition. Based upon the terms of the petitioner's 7 request, the confidential intermediary shall contact a 8 sought-after relative on behalf of the petitioner and inform 9 the sought-after relative of the following options: 10 (1) The sought-after relative may totally reject one 11 or all of the requests for medical information, 12 identifying information or contact. The sought-after 13 relative shall be informed that they can provide a medical 14 questionnaire to be forwarded to the petitioner without 15 releasing any identifying information. The confidential 16 intermediary shall inform the petitioner of the 17 sought-after relative's decision to reject the sharing of 18 information or contact. 19 (2) The sought-after relative may consent to 20 completing a medical questionnaire only. In this case, the 21 confidential intermediary shall provide the questionnaire 22 and ask the sought-after relative to complete it. The 23 confidential intermediary shall forward the completed 24 questionnaire to the petitioner and inform the petitioner 25 of the sought-after relative's desire to not provide any 26 additional information. SB3706 Enrolled - 12 - LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b 1 (3) The sought-after relative may communicate with the 2 petitioner without having his or her identity disclosed. 3 In this case, the confidential intermediary shall arrange 4 the desired communication in a manner that protects the 5 identity of the sought-after relative. The confidential 6 intermediary shall inform the petitioner of the 7 sought-after relative's decision to communicate but not 8 disclose his or her identity. 9 (4) The sought-after relative may consent to initiate 10 contact with the petitioner. The confidential intermediary 11 shall obtain written consents from both parties that they 12 wish to disclose their identities to each other and to 13 have contact with each other. 14 (j) Oath. The confidential intermediary shall sign an oath 15 of confidentiality substantially as follows: "I, .........., 16 being duly sworn, on oath depose and say: As a condition of 17 appointment as a confidential intermediary, I affirm that: 18 (1) I will not disclose to the petitioner, directly or 19 indirectly, any confidential information except in a 20 manner consistent with the law. 21 (2) I recognize that violation of this oath subjects 22 me to civil liability and to a potential finding of 23 contempt of court. ................................ 24 SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me, a Notary Public, on (insert 25 date) 26 ................................." SB3706 Enrolled - 13 - LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b 1 (k) Sanctions. 2 (1) Any confidential intermediary who improperly 3 discloses confidential information identifying a 4 sought-after relative shall be liable to the sought-after 5 relative for damages and may also be found in contempt of 6 court. 7 (2) Any person who learns a sought-after relative's 8 identity, directly or indirectly, through the use of 9 procedures provided in this Section and who improperly 10 discloses information identifying the sought-after 11 relative shall be liable to the sought-after relative for 12 actual damages plus minimum punitive damages of $10,000. 13 (3) The Department shall fine any confidential 14 intermediary who improperly discloses confidential 15 information in violation of item (1) or (2) of this 16 subsection (k) an amount up to $2,000 per improper 17 disclosure. This fine does not affect civil liability 18 under item (2) of this subsection (k). The Department 19 shall deposit all fines and penalties collected under this 20 Section into the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical 21 Information Fund. 22 (l) Death of person being sought. Notwithstanding any 23 other provision of this Act, if the confidential intermediary 24 discovers that the person being sought has died, he or she 25 shall report this fact to the court, along with a copy of the 26 death certificate. If the sought-after relative is a birth SB3706 Enrolled - 14 - LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b 1 parent, the confidential intermediary shall also forward a 2 copy of the birth parent's death certificate, if available, to 3 the Registry for inclusion in the Registry file. 4 (m) Any confidential information obtained by the 5 confidential intermediary during the course of his or her 6 search shall be kept strictly confidential and shall be used 7 for the purpose of arranging contact between the petitioner 8 and the sought-after birth relative. At the time the case is 9 closed, all identifying information shall be returned to the 10 court for inclusion in the impounded adoption file. 11 (n) (Blank). 12 (o) Except as provided in subsection (k) of this Section, 13 no liability shall accrue to the State, any State agency, any 14 judge, any officer or employee of the court, any certified 15 confidential intermediary, or any agency designated to oversee 16 confidential intermediary services for acts, omissions, or 17 efforts made in good faith within the scope of this Section. 18 (p) An adoption agency that has received a request from a 19 confidential intermediary for the full name, date of birth, 20 last known address, or last known telephone number of a 21 sought-after relative pursuant to subsection (g) of Section 22 18.3a, or for medical information regarding a sought-after 23 relative pursuant to subsection (h) of Section 18.3a, must 24 satisfactorily comply with this court order within a period of 25 45 days. The court shall order the adoption agency to 26 reimburse the petitioner in an amount equal to all payments SB3706 Enrolled - 15 - LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b 1 made by the petitioner to the confidential intermediary, and 2 the adoption agency shall be subject to a civil monetary 3 penalty of $1,000 to be paid to the Department of Children and 4 Family Services. Following the issuance of a court order 5 finding that the adoption agency has not complied with Section 6 18.3, the adoption agency shall be subject to a monetary 7 penalty of $500 per day for each subsequent day of 8 non-compliance. Proceeds from such fines shall be utilized by 9 the Department of Children and Family Services to subsidize 10 the fees of petitioners as referenced in subsection (d) of 11 this Section. 12 (q) (Blank). 13 Any reimbursements and fines, notwithstanding any 14 reimbursement directly to the petitioner, paid under this 15 subsection are in addition to other remedies a court may 16 otherwise impose by law. 17 The Department of Children and Family Services shall 18 submit reports to the Adoption Registry-Confidential 19 Intermediary Advisory Council by July 1 and January 1 of each 20 year in order to report the penalties assessed and collected 21 under this subsection, the amounts of related deposits into 22 the DCFS Children's Services Fund, and any expenditures from 23 such deposits. 24 (r) A confidential intermediary shall be permitted to 25 access information from closed child welfare agencies whose 26 records are housed in the State Central Storage consistent SB3706 Enrolled - 16 - LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b 1 with paragraph (g) for all petitioners. If the petitioner is 2 an adult adopted or surrendered person, the adoptive parent of 3 an adult adopted person under the age of 21, or the adoptive 4 parent of a deceased adopted or surrendered person, or an 5 adult child or grandchild of a deceased adopted or surrendered 6 person, the confidential intermediary may request any 7 non-identifying information, including any available medical 8 information about the adopted or surrendered person from birth 9 through adoption, any non-identifying information described in 10 Section 18.4, and the Section 18.3 statement , and, subject to 11 subsection (g), the confidential intermediary shall disclose 12 the non-identifying information to a petitioner who is an 13 adult adopted or surrendered person, the adoptive parent of an 14 adult adopted person under the age of 21, the adoptive parent 15 of a deceased adopted or surrendered person, or an adult child 16 or grandchild of a deceased adopted or surrendered person . 17 (Source: P.A. 104-69, eff. 1-1-26 .)