SB 3706

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Full Text of SB3706
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	SB3706 - 104th General Assembly
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			Senate Amendment 001
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		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,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4    Section 5. The Adoption Act is amended by changing Section
518.3a 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
9of 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
7may petition the court in any county in the State of Illinois
8for appointment of a confidential intermediary as provided in
9this Section for the purpose of exchanging medical information
10with one or more mutually consenting biological relatives,
11obtaining identifying information about one or more mutually
12consenting biological relatives, or arranging contact with one
13or more mutually consenting biological relatives. The
14petitioner shall be required to accompany his or her petition
15with proof of registration with the Illinois Adoption Registry
16and Medical Information Exchange.
17    (a-4) The adoptive parent or legal guardian of an adopted
18or surrendered person under the age of 21 may also petition the
19court for the appointment of a confidential intermediary for
20purposes of obtaining identifying information or arranging
21contact with a mutually consenting adoptive parent or legal
22guardian of a birth sibling of the petitioner's adopted or
23surrendered child under the age of 21.
24    (a-5) In addition, any former youth in care as defined in
25Section 4d of the Children and Family Services Act who was
26adopted or surrendered may petition the court in any county in
		SB3706 Enrolled	- 3 -	LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b
1the State for appointment of a confidential intermediary as
2provided in this Section for the purposes of obtaining
3identifying information or arranging contact with (i) siblings
4or birth relatives if the former youth in care is between the
5ages of 18 and 21 or (ii) former foster parents or foster
6siblings if the former youth in care is over the age of 18. A
7petitioner under this subsection is not required to register
8with the Illinois Adoption Registry and Medical Information
9Exchange.
10    (b) Petition. Upon petition, the court shall appoint a
11confidential intermediary. The petition shall indicate if the
12petitioner wants to do any one or more of the following as to
13the sought-after relative or relatives: exchange medical
14information with the biological relative or relatives, obtain
15identifying information from the biological relative or
16relatives, or to arrange contact with the biological relative.
17    (c) Order. The order appointing the confidential
18intermediary shall allow that intermediary to conduct a search
19for the sought-after relative by accessing those records
20described in subsection (g) of this Section.
21    (d) Fees and expenses. The court shall not condition the
22appointment of the confidential intermediary on the payment of
23the intermediary's fees and expenses in advance of the
24commencement of the work of the confidential intermediary. No
25fee shall be charged to any petitioner.
26    (e) Eligibility of intermediary. The court may appoint as
		SB3706 Enrolled	- 4 -	LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b
1confidential intermediary any person certified by the
2Department of Children and Family Services as qualified to
3serve as a confidential intermediary. Certification shall be
4dependent upon the confidential intermediary completing a
5course of training including, but not limited to, applicable
6federal and State privacy laws.
7    (f) (Blank).
8    (g) Confidential intermediary access to information.
9Subject to the limitations of subsection (i) of this Section,
10the confidential intermediary shall have access to vital
11records maintained by the Department of Public Health and its
12local designees for the maintenance of vital records, or a
13comparable public entity that maintains vital records in
14another state in accordance with that state's laws, and all
15records of the court or any adoption agency, public or
16private, as limited in this Section, which relate to the
17adoption or the identity and location of an adopted or
18surrendered person, of an adult child or surviving spouse of a
19deceased adopted or surrendered person, or of a birth parent,
20birth sibling, or the sibling of a deceased birth parent. The
21confidential intermediary shall not have access to any
22personal health information protected by the Standards for
23Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information
24adopted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
25under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
26of 1996 unless the confidential intermediary has obtained
		SB3706 Enrolled	- 5 -	LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b
1written consent from the person whose information is being
2sought by an adult adopted or surrendered person or, if that
3person is a minor child, that person's parent or guardian.
4Confidential intermediaries shall be authorized to inspect
5confidential relinquishment and adoption records. The
6confidential intermediary shall not be authorized to access
7medical records, financial records, credit records, banking
8records, home studies, attorney file records, or other
9personal records. In cases where a birth parent is being
10sought, an adoption agency shall inform the confidential
11intermediary of any statement filed pursuant to Section 18.3,
12hereinafter referred to as "the 18.3 statement", indicating a
13desire of the surrendering birth parent to have identifying
14information shared or to not have identifying information
15shared. Information provided to the confidential intermediary
16by an adoption agency shall be restricted to the full name,
17date of birth, place of birth, last known address, last known
18telephone number of the sought-after relative or, if
19applicable, of the children or siblings of the sought-after
20relative, and the 18.3 statement. If the petitioner is an
21adult adopted or surrendered person or the adoptive parent of
22a minor and if the petitioner has signed a written
23authorization to disclose personal medical information, an
24adoption agency disclosing information to a confidential
25intermediary shall disclose available medical information
26about the adopted or surrendered person from birth through
		SB3706 Enrolled	- 6 -	LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b
1adoption.
2    (h) Disclosure of information [Missing or lost original ]
3[birth certificate; remedy]. Disclosure of information by the
4confidential intermediary shall be consistent with the public
5policy and intent of laws granting original birth certificate
6access as expressed in Section 18.04 of this Act. The
7confidential intermediary shall comply with the following
8procedures 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
19confidential intermediary at any time from the appointment of
20the confidential intermediary and the court's issuance of an
21order of dismissal.
22    (i) Duties of confidential intermediary in conducting a
23search. In conducting a search under this Section, the
24confidential intermediary shall first determine whether there
25is a Denial of Information Exchange or a Birth Parent
26Preference Form with Option E selected or an 18.3 statement
		SB3706 Enrolled	- 10 -	LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b
1referenced in subsection (g) of this Section on file with the
2Illinois Adoption Registry. If there is a denial, the Birth
3Parent Preference Form on file with the Registry and the birth
4parent who completed the form selected Option E, or if there is
5an 18.3 statement indicating the birth parent's intent not to
6have identifying information shared and the birth parent did
7not later file an Information Exchange Authorization with the
8Registry, the confidential intermediary must discontinue the
9search unless 5 years or more have elapsed since the execution
10of the Denial of Information Exchange, Birth Parent Preference
11Form, or the 18.3 statement. If a birth parent was previously
12the subject of a search through the State confidential
13intermediary program, the confidential intermediary shall
14inform the petitioner of the need to discontinue the search
15until 10 years or more have elapsed since the initial search
16was closed. In cases where a birth parent has been the object
17of 2 searches through the State confidential intermediary
18program, no subsequent search for the birth parent shall be
19authorized absent a court order to the contrary.
20    In conducting a search under this Section, the
21confidential intermediary shall attempt to locate the relative
22or relatives from whom the petitioner has requested
23information. If the sought-after relative is deceased or
24cannot be located after a diligent search, the confidential
25intermediary may contact other adult relatives of the
26sought-after relative.
		SB3706 Enrolled	- 11 -	LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b
1    The confidential intermediary shall contact a sought-after
2relative on behalf of the petitioner in a manner that respects
3the sought-after relative's privacy and shall inform the
4sought-after relative of the petitioner's request for medical
5information, identifying information or contact as stated in
6the petition. Based upon the terms of the petitioner's
7request, the confidential intermediary shall contact a
8sought-after relative on behalf of the petitioner and inform
9the 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
15of confidentiality substantially as follows: "I, ..........,
16being duly sworn, on oath depose and say: As a condition of
17appointment 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. ................................
24SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me, a Notary Public, on (insert
25date)
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
23other provision of this Act, if the confidential intermediary
24discovers that the person being sought has died, he or she
25shall report this fact to the court, along with a copy of the
26death certificate. If the sought-after relative is a birth
		SB3706 Enrolled	- 14 -	LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b
1parent, the confidential intermediary shall also forward a
2copy of the birth parent's death certificate, if available, to
3the Registry for inclusion in the Registry file.
4    (m) Any confidential information obtained by the
5confidential intermediary during the course of his or her
6search shall be kept strictly confidential and shall be used
7for the purpose of arranging contact between the petitioner
8and the sought-after birth relative. At the time the case is
9closed, all identifying information shall be returned to the
10court for inclusion in the impounded adoption file.
11    (n) (Blank).
12    (o) Except as provided in subsection (k) of this Section,
13no liability shall accrue to the State, any State agency, any
14judge, any officer or employee of the court, any certified
15confidential intermediary, or any agency designated to oversee
16confidential intermediary services for acts, omissions, or
17efforts made in good faith within the scope of this Section.
18    (p) An adoption agency that has received a request from a
19confidential intermediary for the full name, date of birth,
20last known address, or last known telephone number of a
21sought-after relative pursuant to subsection (g) of Section
2218.3a, or for medical information regarding a sought-after
23relative pursuant to subsection (h) of Section 18.3a, must
24satisfactorily comply with this court order within a period of
2545 days. The court shall order the adoption agency to
26reimburse the petitioner in an amount equal to all payments
		SB3706 Enrolled	- 15 -	LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b
1made by the petitioner to the confidential intermediary, and
2the adoption agency shall be subject to a civil monetary
3penalty of $1,000 to be paid to the Department of Children and
4Family Services. Following the issuance of a court order
5finding that the adoption agency has not complied with Section
618.3, the adoption agency shall be subject to a monetary
7penalty of $500 per day for each subsequent day of
8non-compliance. Proceeds from such fines shall be utilized by
9the Department of Children and Family Services to subsidize
10the fees of petitioners as referenced in subsection (d) of
11this Section.
12    (q) (Blank).
13    Any reimbursements and fines, notwithstanding any
14reimbursement directly to the petitioner, paid under this
15subsection are in addition to other remedies a court may
16otherwise impose by law.
17    The Department of Children and Family Services shall
18submit reports to the Adoption Registry-Confidential
19Intermediary Advisory Council by July 1 and January 1 of each
20year in order to report the penalties assessed and collected
21under this subsection, the amounts of related deposits into
22the DCFS Children's Services Fund, and any expenditures from
23such deposits.
24    (r) A confidential intermediary shall be permitted to
25access information from closed child welfare agencies whose
26records are housed in the State Central Storage consistent
		SB3706 Enrolled	- 16 -	LRB104 20671 JRC 34170 b
1with paragraph (g) for all petitioners. If the petitioner is
2an adult adopted or surrendered person, the adoptive parent of
3an adult adopted person under the age of 21, [or] the adoptive
4parent of a deceased adopted or surrendered person, or an 
5adult child or grandchild of a deceased adopted or surrendered 
6person, the confidential intermediary may request any
7non-identifying information, including any available medical
8information about the adopted or surrendered person from birth
9through adoption, any non-identifying information described in
10Section 18.4, and the Section 18.3 statement, and, subject to 
11subsection (g), the confidential intermediary shall disclose 
12the non-identifying information to a petitioner who is an 
13adult adopted or surrendered person, the adoptive parent of an 
14adult adopted person under the age of 21, the adoptive parent 
15of a deceased adopted or surrendered person, or an adult child 
16or grandchild of a deceased adopted or surrendered person.
17(Source: P.A. 104-69, eff. 1-1-26.)