Committee passes bill clarifying DCFS custody and reporting when judges take protective custody

Senator Rice presented House Bill 14-70 to the Judiciary Committee. The sponsor and DHS counsel said the measure clarifies procedures when a child is taken into a 72-hour protective custody hold by someone other than the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). "This bill clarifies that DCFS shall assume custody of every child who is taken in protective custody 72 hour hold by a non DCFS stakeholder," counsel said.

The bill also allows DCFS to release the hold if circumstances change and the agency determines return is safe and appropriate; it requires DCFS to notify the court if the hold was taken by a circuit judge and permits limited disclosure of confidential maltreatment information when necessary to protect children. The measure mandates that DHS contractors report child and adult maltreatment when acting within the scope of their employment.

Committee members pressed DHS on the assessment tools the department uses to determine immediate danger and whether same-day placements with relatives are possible. DHS counsel said the department will use its existing structured decision-making and other social-work assessment tools, and that in many cases it can make same-day placements with relatives or "fictive kin" when appropriate. Counsel stressed that once DCFS has legally assumed custody the department has limits on whom it can release custody to without court action, but staff will be trained on the statute's "shall release" language to emphasize returning children when there is no immediate danger.

The committee recorded no public opposition. After discussion and closing remarks, a motion to pass the bill was made, seconded, and carried by voice vote.