Text of IL SR 403 (2019)

SR0403LRB101 12387 MST 60480 r 1SENATE RESOLUTION 2 WHEREAS, The Foster Children's Bill of Rights Act (20 ILCS 3521/1) gives every child and adult in the care of the 4Department of Children and Family Services the right: "[t]o 5have caregivers and child welfare personnel who have received 6instruction on cultural competency and sensitivity relating 7to, and best practices for, providing adequate care to lesbian, 8gay, bisexual, and transgender youth in out-of-home care[; …] 9[t]o have fair and equal access to all available services, 10placement, care, treatment, and benefits, and to not be 11subjected to discrimination or harassment on the basis of 12actual or perceived…sexual orientation, [or] gender identity 13[; …] [t]o receive medical…, and mental health services[; … 14and] [t]o receive a copy of [the Foster Children Bill of 15Rights] from and have it fully explained by the Department of 16Children and Family Services when the child or adult is placed 17in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services"; 18and 19 WHEREAS, CFS form 496-1 (Revised July 2018), the Illinois 20Foster Child and Youth Bill of Rights, further provides 21specific requirements for when the Department of Children and 22Family Services must provide children and youth with a copy of 23these Rights and states that children and youth have the right 24to "be placed in out-of-home care according to [the child or SR0403- 2 -LRB101 12387 MST 60480 r 1youth's] gender identity, regardless of the gender or sex 2listed in their court or child welfare records[; and] be 3provided appropriate clothing that fits and corresponds to [the 4child or youth's] gender identity"; and 5 WHEREAS, The Family First Prevention and Services Act of 6the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Public Law No. 115-123) 7became federal law on February 9, 2018, steering the child 8welfare system towards much needed reform and re-calibration of 9policies to: "provide enhanced support to children and families 10and prevent foster care placements" and, if safety necessitates 11removal, provides children with loving foster homes rather than 12congregate care settings; address disparities known to child 13welfare experts, such as the overrepresentation of youth who 14are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning in the 15child welfare system overall and the system overreliance on 16congregate care settings for these youth, which typically yield 17worse outcomes for them compared to their cisgender and 18heterosexual peers; recruit, retain, and support homes that are 19affirming of a youth-in-care's sexual orientations and gender 20identity and establish a system of accountability if homes are 21not providing affirming care; and, protect Lesbian, Gay, 22Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) youth from being 23unnecessarily diagnosed to meet clinical criteria required for 24residential care or from facing increased risk of involvement 25in the justice system as a result of the Family First SR0403- 3 -LRB101 12387 MST 60480 r 1Prevention and Services Act implementation; and 2 WHEREAS, The Children and Family Services Act (20 ILCS 3505/5.25) requires the Department of Children and Family 4Services to provide every child in its care with "the necessary 5behavioral health services", including "behavioral health 6services from an outside provider when those services are 7necessary to meet the child's needs and the child wishes to 8receive them"; and 9 WHEREAS, The Department of Children and Family Services is 10required by the Children and Family Services Act (20 ILCS 11505/7) to place children in its care in safe and adequate 12placements consistent with each child's health, safety, and 13best interests; and 14 WHEREAS, The Department of Children and Family Services has 15adopted rules, entitled "Placement Selection Criteria", (89 16Ill. Adm. Code Part 301.60) that provide that "all placement 17decisions will be made consistent with the safety, best 18interests and special needs of the child" and that 19consideration shall be given to "the least restrictive setting 20appropriate for the child which most closely approximates a 21family"; and 22 WHEREAS, The Department of Children and Family Services is SR0403- 4 -LRB101 12387 MST 60480 r 1the party to a federal court consent decree (B.H. et al., 88 C 25599, N.D. ILL) that provides that Children shall: be free from 3foreseeable and preventable harm[;]…receive at least minimally 4adequate healthcare [including] mental health care adequate to 5address their serious mental health needs[;] be free from 6unreasonable and unnecessary intrusions by DCFS upon their 7emotional and psychological well being" and that the Department 8shall maintain a system which provides: "that children will be 9timely and stably placed in safe and appropriate living 10arrangements[;]…for the prompt identification of the medical, 11mental health and developmental needs of children[;] timely 12access to adequate medical, mental and developmental 13services[; and] that children receive adequate services to 14assist in the transition to adulthood"; and 15 WHEREAS, The Illinois Human Rights Act (755 ILCS 5) 16protects against discrimination on the basis of sexual 17orientation and gender identity in places of public 18accommodation, including the Department of Children and Family 19Services and its contracted providers; and 20 WHEREAS, People who are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, 21Transgender, Questioning or Queer are subjected to violence and 22discrimination because of who they are or who they love; and 23 WHEREAS, Gender dysphoria is a serious and internationally SR0403- 5 -LRB101 12387 MST 60480 r 1recognized medical condition that requires immediate medical 2attention from a medical professional experienced in its 3treatment; and 4 WHEREAS, On May 11, 2017 the Department of Children and 5Family Services updated Appendix K to Procedures 302 "Support 6and Well-Being of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and 7Questioning (LGBTQ) Children and Youth" (P.T. 2017.04) which, 8among other things: (1) recognizes that LGBTQ children/youth 9are at higher risk than their heterosexual cisgender 10counterparts for emotional and physical abuse from family 11members and/or peers, failed out-of-home placements, 12homelessness, emotional/physical victimization, and/or 13institutional neglect or abuse; (2) states DCFS' policy is to 14maintain and promote safe and affirming environments for LGBTQ 15children and youth; (3) applies to anybody in contact with 16children/youth in DCFS care (e.g., DCFS staff, employees of 17contractors, volunteers, foster parents, etc.); (4) prohibits 18caregivers from engaging in any discrimination against or 19mistreatment of LGBTQ children and youth; (5) requires 20caregivers to affirm and support an LGBTQ child/youth's sexual 21orientation and gender identity, including by: (a) using the 22child/youth's preferred name and gender pronouns (including 23gender-neutral pronouns, such as "they/them"), including in 24written documents and records when the youth agrees; (b) 25respecting the child/youth's choice of clothes, make-up, SR0403- 6 -LRB101 12387 MST 60480 r 1hairstyle, friends, and activities; and (c) providing support 2to LGBTQ youth who are experiencing problems related to their 3sexual orientation or gender identity in the community, 4including schools where transgender youth may need help 5requesting permission to use gendered facilities such as 6restrooms or locker rooms; (6) prohibits placing a child or 7youth in congregate care because of their sexual orientation or 8gender identity; (7) prohibits placing LGBTQ youth somewhere 9they will not be affirmed and requires immediate corrective 10action if a youth is not being affirmed; (8) provides that 11children/youth should generally be housed based on their gender 12identity, rather than their birth assigned gender, and a 13child/youth's perception of where they should be placed and 14would feel safest should be the primary factor in informing 15housing decisions; (9) states that LGBTQ children and youth 16have the right to receive LGBTQ competent medical care and 17sexual health education, including continuation of hormone 18therapy for transgender youth who were receiving it before 19entering DCFS care, and that youth who request hormone therapy 20while in DCFS care (who were not receiving such care prior to 21entering DCFS custody) should be referred to medical 22professionals who are recognized as medically competent in the 23care of transgender youth; (10) requires caregivers to respect 24the privacy of a child/youth's sexual orientation and gender 25identity and not disclose this information without the 26child/youth's permission; and (11) mandates annual training in SR0403- 7 -LRB101 12387 MST 60480 r 1LGBTQ competent care for every person in contact with 2children/youth in DCFS care; and 3 WHEREAS, There has been little to no public information 4offered about the Department of Children and Family Services' 5implementation of Appendix K to Procedure 302, or whether there 6is any oversight process to ensure accountability and 7compliance with the requirements of Appendix K to Procedure 302 8so that the needs of youth identifying as Lesbian, Gay, 9Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ) are being 10addressed systematically by the Department of Children and 11Family Services and its contractors, or whether any efforts are 12having an impact on disparate outcomes, division of duties 13during staffing vacancies for allocated positions, or whether 14State resources are being sufficiently allocated and spent to 15properly implement Appendix K; and 16 WHEREAS, The General Assembly requires reliable 17information to guide funding decisions, perform its oversight 18capacity, and make sound legislative and administrative 19recommendations; therefore, be it 20 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL 21ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Auditor General is 22directed to conduct a performance audit of the Department of 23Children and Family Services' compliance with its obligations SR0403- 8 -LRB101 12387 MST 60480 r 1to protect and affirm children and youth who are lesbian, gay, 2bisexual, transgender, questioning or queer; and be it further; 3 RESOLVED, That the audit shall include, but not be limited 4to, examining the operations and management of the Department 5of Children and Family Services and its contractors to perform 6its duties in accordance with the Foster Children's Bill of 7Rights Act (20 ILCS 521/1) and Appendix K to Procedures 302 8"Support and Well-Being of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender 9and Questioning (LGBTQ) Children and Youth" (P.T. 2017.04) as 10follows: 11 (1)The Department of Children and Family Services' 12 implementation of and adherence to Appendix K to Procedure 13 302 and the Foster Children's Bill of Rights; 14 (2)The Department of Children and Family Services' 15 contractors' implementation of and adherence to Appendix K 16 of Procedure 302 and the Foster Children's Bill of Rights; 17 (3)How and with what frequency the Department of 18 Children and Family Services and its contractors' 19 employees are trained on sexual orientation, gender 20 identity, and the requirements of Appendix K, and whether 21 the training is sufficient to demonstrate appropriate 22 application to fieldwork; 23 (4)How employee and contract oversight ensure 24 accountability and corrective actions; 25 (5)The method by which the Department of Children and SR0403- 9 -LRB101 12387 MST 60480 r 1 Family Services assesses, monitors, and acts to make 2 certain its contracted providers have adopted 3 LGBTQ-affirming, nondiscrimination policies that are at 4 least as extensive as Appendix K, including policies 5 providing for employee discipline up to and including 6 termination and for conduct in violation of the 7 non-discrimination policy; 8 (6)The methods by which information about youth 9 gender-identity is sought, the format and locations in 10 which this information is maintained, and the practices 11 utilized for privacy protections; 12 (7)Actions taken by the Department of Children and 13 Family Services and its contractors in licensing to require 14 foster parents' commitment to provide care and homes that 15 are affirming of all children and youth, regardless of 16 sexual orientation or gender identity; 17 (8)The process by which the Department of Children and 18 Family Services ensures that children or youth who identify 19 as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning or 20 queer are matched with placements that are affirming of 21 those youths' sexual orientation and gender identity; and 22 (9)The current gap in placement and service capacity to 23 meet needs and efforts made to recruit homes affirming of 24 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning or 25 queer children and youth; and be it further SR0403- 10 -LRB101 12387 MST 60480 r 1 RESOLVED, That the audit include, but not be limited to, 2the following determinations as they pertain to children (up to 3the age of 21) in the care of the Department of Children and 4Family Services in calendar years 2017 and 2018: 5 (1)Whether youth in care are made aware of their rights 6 and know how to report violations of these rights, the 7 experiences of youth who have reported violations, 8 recommendations made by youth in care to improve their 9 ability to meaningfully exercise their rights, and how the 10 Department of Children and Family Services incorporates 11 such recommendations in policy development; 12 (2)The number of youth in care identifying as (a) 13 lesbian, (b) gay, (c) bisexual, (d) transgender, (e) 14 questioning, (f) gender non-conforming, (g) another 15 minority sexual orientation or gender identity, or (g) more 16 than one of the aforementioned identifications during the 17 review period; 18 (3)For each youth in subsection (2), the length of stay 19 in out-of-home care, case permanency goals, frequency of 20 sibling visitation, as applicable; 21 (4)For each youth in subsection (2), the number, type, 22 and duration of each placement designated foster home, 23 group home, residential treatment center, detention or 24 correctional setting, psychiatric hospital, transitional 25 living program, or shelter home; whether and how the youth 26 in care participated in placement planning and SR0403- 11 -LRB101 12387 MST 60480 r 1 determination; whether and how gender identity was 2 considered for placement selection and whether the youth 3 was placed according to their gender identity (as opposed 4 to their sex assigned at birth as reflected on their birth 5 certificate); reasons for placement disruptions, if 6 applicable; 7 (5)For each youth in subsection (2), the number of each 8 incident categorized as running away, contact with police 9 or the justice system, crisis hospitalization, 10 hospitalization beyond medical necessity, reported victim 11 of assault, school-related disciplinary infractions, 12 school-related bullying or harassment, removal from a 13 placement at the request of a provider or caregiver, 14 removal from a placement at the request of the youth, 15 subject of abuse or neglect allegations while in 16 out-of-home care, detained in a correctional setting 17 beyond release due to lack of identified placement; 18 (6)Whether the youth in subsection (2) were provided 19 opportunities to engage in normalcy activities (e.g., 20 participation in activities typical of their peer and age 21 group) consistent with their gender identity; 22 (7)Whether the data findings for subsections (1), (3), 23 (4), (5), (6) differ from that of the general population of 24 youth in care or whether the data differs based on the 25 geographic placement of the youth in care; 26 (8)The number of providers designated as clinically SR0403- 12 -LRB101 12387 MST 60480 r 1 appropriate to provide housing or services to youth who 2 identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or 3 questioning available to youth in care and the number of 4 youth utilizing those providers for services or supports; 5 (9)The number of transgender youth in care who have 6 requested (whether formally or informally) 7 transition-related hormone therapy or consultation 8 services regarding this treatment; the number of youth the 9 Department of Children and Family Services did not refer 10 for treatment, the qualifications of staff making the 11 determination, and justification; the number of youth who 12 received their requested care and whether this was 13 delivered by a qualified provider; and the length of time 14 from the youth's request to a service referral being made 15 to referral resulting in service delivery; and information 16 regarding barriers to service access, bureaucratic 17 hierarchy and hurdles, and efforts made to address these 18 issues; and 19 (10)The number of youth in care in need of treatment 20 for gender dysphoria and how this need is identified; the 21 number of youth the Department of Children and Family 22 Services did not refer for treatment, the qualifications of 23 staff making the determination, and justification; the 24 number of youth receiving this care and whether it was 25 provided by a qualified clinician; the length of time from 26 need being identified to service referral being made to SR0403- 13 -LRB101 12387 MST 60480 r 1 referral resulting in service delivery; and information 2 regarding barriers to service access, bureaucratic 3 hierarchy and hurdles, and efforts made to address these 4 issues; and be it further 5 RESOLVED, That the Department of Children and Family 6Services shall cooperate fully and promptly with the Auditor 7General's Office in conducting this audit; and be it further 8 RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence this audit as 9soon as possible and distribute the report upon completion in 10accordance with Section 3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing 11Act.