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PROPOSED ORDINANCE
ORDINANCE REGARDING THE COOK COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ADOPTION AND FAMILY SERVICES
WHEREAS, the Cook County Office of Adoption and Child Custody (“Office”) is one of the oldest social service agencies in Cook County dating back to 1912 (having previously been known as the Court Service Division of Cook County Department of Public Aid and the Department of Supportive Services); and
WHEREAS, the Office, which falls under the Bureau of Administration, conducts home based social investigations and provides other services pursuant to orders issued by the Circuit Court of Cook County in adoption, probate, and domestic relations cases; and
WHEREAS, as a result of recent amendments to the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, all references to “custody” have been replaced by “parental responsibility allocation” and “custody” will no longer to be used by the courts in matters pertaining to child parenting time and parental responsibility; and
WHEREAS, in consideration of the various changes in the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution Act, it is hereby recommended that the Office be renamed the Department of Adoption and Family Supportive Services; and
WHEREAS, the Office has not been separately codified in the County’s Code of Ordinances and it is hereby desired to further delineate the Office’s responsibilities and fees in the Cook County Code of Ordinances;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED, by the Cook County Board of Commissioners that Chapter 38, Health and Human Services, Article VII., Adoption and Family Supportive Services, Section 38-170 through 38-173 of the Cook County Code are hereby enacted as follows:
ARTICLE VII.
ADOPTION AND FAMILY SUPPORTIVE SERVICES
Sec. 38-170. Establishment.
The Cook County Office of Adoption and Child Custody Advocacy shall hereby be renamed the Cook County Department of Adoption and Family Supportive Services (“Department”) and shall remain within the administrative responsibility and jurisdiction of the Cook County Bureau of Administration.
Sec. 38-171. Powers and Duties.
The Department shall perform the following services and duties:
(a) Social Study Investigations. Upon the direction and order of a judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, the Department shall conduct a social study investigation and issue a report to the judge who ordered said investigation for the following matters:
(1) Adoptions;
(2) Allocation of parental responsibility or parenting time cases; and
(3) Probate cases involving guardianship and/or custody of a child;
(b) Other Services. The Department may provide additional services on behalf of the Circuit Court of Cook County including but not limited to:
(1) Intake screening interview of prospective adoptive parents and, if age appropriate, the child or children;
(2) Interviews with birth parents prior to adoption consent to obtain extensive background information with the understanding that non-identifying information, as authorized by statute, will be available to the adoptive parents and the adoptee later in life;
(3) Fingerprinting processing for statutorily required criminal background checks;
(4) Post adoption services involving inquiries from adult adoptees and to a lesser degree adoptive and birth parents and other qualifying relatives for non- identifying information concerning the adoptee’s biological background; and
(5) Any other service authorized by an Illinois statute, a General Administrative Order of the Circuit Court of Cook County or ordinance of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
(c) The Director of the Department shall attempt to meet, minimally on a quarterly basis, with (i) the presiding judges of the circuit court responsible for adoption, probate and domestic relations cases and (ii) the Office of the Chief Judge to discuss court orders and case management relevant to the Department’s responsibilities. The Department Director shall report the outcome of these meetings to the Chief of the Bureau of Administration.
Sec. 38-173. Fees.
The Department shall charge fees for the following services with the amounts as set in Section 32-1 of this Code.
(1) Adoption Intake Interview - Initial meeting with prospective adoptive family providing an overview of the adoption process, review of qualifications for adoption and implementation of the process for criminal and DCFS background check.
(2) Birth Parent Interview and Consent - interviewing and collecting information from the birth parent and overview of the signature of documents that allow the birth parent(s) to relinquish rights and responsibilities of the child to a specific person.
(3) Adult Adoptee Inquiry (paid by Adoptee) - Retrieval and review of adoption file and generating a report of non-identifying information.
(4) Adoption Fingerprint Processing (paid by adoptive parent(s)) - Assists attorneys and parents with retrieval and processing of state and federal criminal background checks.
(5) Foreign Jurisdiction Social Study Investigation Request (paid by individual residing outside of the court’s jurisdiction) - Court of foreign jurisdiction (outside of cook county) informally requests that the Department conduct a child custody social study investigation of a cook county resident that includes interviews of all house hold residents, cook county criminal background checks and DCFS background checks and retrieval of school progress reports.
(6) Adoption Social Study Investigation Fee (per child) (Based on annual income of, and paid by, adoptive parent(s). Annual income shall be verified by either a current federal or state tax return or current wages and tax statements, e.g., W-2 and/ or 1099 forms) -Includes interview of all house hold residents and child care providers of the adoptee; retrieval of financial information, character and employment references, medical information, school progress reports and other mandatory information integrated into a written report concerning adoption proceedings.
All fees shall be collected by the Department and remitted to the Cook County Department of Revenue.
BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED, by the Cook County Board of Commissioners, that Chapter 32, Section 32-1 of the Cook County Code is hereby amended as follows:
Sec. 32-1. Fee Schedule.
The fees or charges provided for or required by the below listed sections shall be as shown below:
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CHAPTER 38, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, ARTICLE VII, ADOPTION AND FAMILY SUPPORTIVE SERVICES |
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38-173 |
Office of Adoption and Family Supportive Services Fees |
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|
38-173(1) |
Adoption Intake Interview |
150.00 |
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38-173(2) |
Birth Parent Interview and Consent |
100.00 per hour |
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38-173(3) |
Adoption - Adult Adoptee Inquiry (paid by Adoptee) |
100.00 |
|
38-173(4) |
Adoption - Fingerprint Administrative Fee (paid by adoptive parent(s)) |
15.00 |
|
38-173(5) |
Foreign Jurisdiction Social Study Investigation Request (paid by individual residing outside of the jurisdiction) |
500.00 |
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38-173(6) |
Adoption Social Study Investigation Fee (per child) (paid by adoptive parent): |
|
|
|
If Annual Income is: Under 10,000 10,001-14,999 15,000-19,999 20,000-24,999 25,000-29,999 30,000-34,999 35,000-39,999 40,000-44,999 45,000-49,999 50,000-59,999 60,000-69,999 70,000-79,999 80,000-89,999 90,000-99,999 100,000-149,999 150,000-200,000 200,000 and above |
50.00 75.00 125.00 225.00 325.00 475.00 675.00 775.00 925.00 1,025.00 1,225.00 1,325.00 1,525.00 1,675.00 2,025.00 2,525.00 3,025.00 |
Effective date: This ordinance shall be in effect immediately upon adoption
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