Temporary Custody Hearings 

Temporary Custody Hearings (referred to as Shelter Care Hearings in Illinois counties outside Cook) occur within 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays, after children are taken into protective/temporary custody. Temporary custody hearings are the first hearings in Juvenile Court. Judges hear summaries of the evidence and determine: 

• Whether there is probable cause to believe that the children are abused, neglected or dependent. (Evidence presented is enough to make a reasonable person believe the actions were necessary.) 
• Whether there is urgent and immediate necessity to place the children away from their parents. 
• Whether reasonable efforts were made by DCFS to prevent the children’s placement away from their parents. 
• What are the best interests of the children. 

Abuse is the commission or omission by a parent, immediate family member or any person responsible for the child’s welfare, which involves physical injury, such as bruises, human bites, bone fractures; substantial risk of physical injury, such as choking, shaking or violently shoving, domestic violence; torture, such as systematically inflicting cruel and unusual treatment toward a child; excessive corporal punishment and/or sexual abuse, including penetration, exploitation, molestation. 

Neglect is behavior by the parent, immediate family member or any person responsible for the child’s welfare in which that person fails to provide food, clothing, shelter, education, or medical care; provides inadequate supervision; creates an environment injurious to the child’s welfare; exposes an infant to a controlled substance or demonstrates a blatant disregard for the child’s safety, including situations where a caregiver should take safeguards and does not. A child who is abandoned by their parent or responsible person is considered neglected.

Dependency includes situations where the child is without a parent, guardian or legal custodian; without proper care because of parent’s mental or physical disability; without proper medical care through “no fault” of parent or the parent has “good cause” to want to be relieved of parental rights and responsibilities (i.e., child has medical problems and the parent cannot physically care for her).

NO PROBABLE CAUSE Petitions are dismissed, and the children are returned to their parents or guardians.

PROBABLE CAUSE, BUT NO URGENT AND IMMEDIATE NECESSITY  It is in the best interests of the children to return home. Children are returned to their parents or guardians under Orders of Protection to protect them from alleged offenders. A court date isset for adjudicatory hearing.

PROBABLE CAUSE-- URGENT AND IMMEDIATE NECESSITY  It is in the children’s best interest to be placed or have them remain in placement away from their parents or guardians. Judges appoint DCFS guardians as temporary custodians, with the right to place the children away from home, pending adjudicatory hearings.

Adjudicatory Hearings 

Adjudicatory Hearings are trials. Statutorily, the adjudicatory hearing should occur within 90 days after temporary custody hearings. At this hearing, the Judge decides if the evidence presented shows that the child was abused, neglected or is dependent. If the Judge makes this finding, he/she must also determine whether the child was abused or neglected by the parent(s) or legal guardian. The abuse, neglect or dependency must relate to the time frame when the case first came into court. The Court can only receive information about this time frame. The Judge will not hear anything about things that happened after the temporary custody hearing. This hearing has a higher standard of evidence or burden of proof than the temporary custody hearing and hearsay is not allowed. There must be a “preponderance of the evidence”, the evidence is probable to be true than not. 

Pursuant to statute, certain things constitute prima facie evidence of abuse or neglect. Prima facie means that the evidence is sufficient without explanation or “on its face.” Besides this evidence the Judge may hear other evidence and make findings. 

(2) In any hearing under this Act, the following shall constitute prima facie evidence of abuse or neglect, as the case may be: 

(a) proof that a minor has a medical diagnosis of battered child syndrome is prima facie evidence of abuse; 

(b) proof that a minor has a medical diagnosis of failure to thrive syndrome is prima facie evidence of neglect; 

(c) proof that a minor has a medical diagnosis of fetal alcohol syndrome is prima facie evidence of neglect;

(d) proof that a minor has a medical diagnosis at birth of withdrawal symptoms from narcotics or barbiturates is prima facie evidence of neglect; 

(e) proof of injuries sustained by a minor or of the condition of the minor of such a nature as would ordinarily not be sustained or exist except by reason of the acts or omissions of the parent, custodian or guardian of such minor shall be prima facie evidence of abuse or neglect, as the case may be; 

(f) proof that a parent, custodian or guardian of a minor repeatedly used a drug, to the extent that it has or would ordinarily have the effect of producing in the user a substantial state of stupor, unconsciousness, intoxication, hallucination, disorientation or incompetence, or a substantial impairment of judgment, as a substantial manifestation of irrationality shall be prima facie evidence of neglect; 

(g) proof that a parent, custodian or guardian of a minor repeatedly used a controlled substance, as defined in subsection (f) of Section 102 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act (720 ILCS 570/102), in the presence of the minor or a sibling of the minor is prima facie evidence of neglect. “Repeated use”, for the purpose of this subsection, means more than one use of a controlled substance as defined in subsection (f) of Section 102 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act (720 ILCS 570/102); 

(h) proof that a newborn infant’s blood, urine or meconium contains any amount of a controlled substance as defined in subsection (f) of Section 102 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act (720 ILCS 570/102), or a metabolite of a controlled substance or metabolites of those substances, with the exception of controlled substances or metabolites of such substances, the presence of which is the result of medical treatment administered to the mother or the newborn, is prima facie evidence of neglect. 

(i) Proof that a minor was present in a structure or vehicle in which the minor’s parent, custodian, or guardian was involved in the manufacture of methamphetamine constitutes prima facie evidence of abuse or neglect. 

(3) In any hearing under this Act, proof of the abuse, neglect or dependency of one minor shall be admissible evidence on the issue of the abuse, neglect or dependency of any other minor for whom the respondent is responsible. 705 ILCS 405/2-18(2) and (3) 

• If the allegations are not proven by preponderance of evidence at the adjudicatory hearing, the petitions are dismissed, and the children are returned to their parents or guardians.
• If the allegations are proven by a preponderance of evidence--there are findings of abuse/neglect/dependency. Children continue in DCFS temporary custody pending dispositional hearings. The judge may send the children home under an Order of Protection with services in place. The judge is required to admonish parents to cooperate, comply, and correct (NOTE:The 3 C’s of Admonishment: Cooperate Comply Correct) the conditions that require the children to be placed outside the home.

Dispositional Hearings 

Dispositional Hearings occur within 30 days of adjudicatory hearings with one opportunity for continuance not to exceed 30 days, unless all of the parties agree to waive the 30 day time limit. The judge: 

• Hears testimony about efforts made to reunify the children and families.
• Considers reports submitted by caseworkers and otherservice providers. 
• Reviews evidence as to the services delivered or to be delivered under the family’s service plans, placement alternatives(including return home), and the best interests of the children. 

The judge may decide that: 

• It is appropriate to consider termination of parental rights when parents are unknown, parents’ whereaboutsremain unknown, or parents have not responded by appearing in court after receiving notice of court proceedings. 
• If sufficient progress has been made by the parent(s) or legal guardian to correct the circumstances that brought the case into court, the Judge may return the child to his/her parent(s) or legal guardian and close the case. 
• If sufficient progress has been made by the parent(s) or legal guardian to correct the circumstances that brought the case into court, the Judge may return the child to his/her parent(s) or legal guardian, make the child a youth in care of the Court and continue the case for further monitoring. In Cook County, the child is usually allowed to remain with a parent or guardian under an Order of Protection, listing certain terms and conditions the parents must follow. In other counties children are often returned without an Order of Protection. The case is usually continued for progress reports. 
• If sufficient progress has not yet been made for return home, the Judge may make the minor a youth in care of the Court and grant guardianship of the child to the DCFS Guardianship Administrator. The parents are admonished that they must cooperate with DCFS to correct the conditions that caused the case to come into the system or risk termination of their parental rights. The case is continued for the Permanency Hearing 
• If sufficient progress has not yet been made for return home, the Judge may make the minor a youth in care of the Court and grant guardianship of the child to a private guardian. If guardianship is granted to a private guardian, the Judge sometimes closes the case. If not closed, the case is continued for the Permanency Hearing. 

The judge also sets future dates for progress or permanency hearings.

Status/Progress Hearings 

Status Hearings inform the court about the status of particular aspects of cases and can occur at any time. 

Progress Hearings inform the court about the progress of cases, including such matters as: 

• Parents’ progresstoward being ready for their children to return home. 
• Parents’ progress under Orders of Protection, where increased contact with the children has been granted by the judge. 
• Caseworkers’ progressin preparing casesfor termination of parental rights. 

Permanency Hearings 

Permanency Hearings must be held within at least twelve months of temporary protective custody and at least every six months thereafter. Timeframes for permanency hearings are mandatory. 

The judge: 

• Reviewsservice plans and reportssubmitted by caseworkers and service providers. 
• Hears evidence regarding efforts made to reunify the children and families and services delivered or to be delivered under the family’sservice plans. 
• Considers placement alternatives(including return home). 
• Considersthe best interests of the children. 

The judge then determines the children’s future status by setting permanency goals. The Judge can set one of these goals: however, the Court has to rule out each goal in order before entering a goal other than Return Home. 

Hearings for Termination of Parental Rights

In a Termination Hearing, the Court decides, based on the facts and evidence presented, whether there is clear and convincing evidence, as defined in the Adoption Act, to find the parent(s) unfit and whether it is in the child’s best interest to terminate parental rights. The Court can terminate parental rights even if an adoptive family has not yet been located. This hearing can occur in conjunction with the Adjudicatory and Dispositional phase of the case but usually happens in a separate hearing after the Dispositional Hearing. 

Grounds 

The State files a petition alleging grounds for termination and presents evidence supporting them. Some of the more common grounds alleged are abandonment; failure to maintain a reasonable degree of interest; concern or responsibility in the child; substantial continuous or repeated neglect; extreme or repeated cruelty; and failure of the parent to make reasonable progress nine months after adjudication.

Consents and Surrenders 

A general consent or surrender is a document that a parent signs before a judge or specified caseworker that terminates his/her parental rights to a child. The parent is generally signing over their parental rights to DCFS. DCFS determines who will be the adoptive parent. The parent has no say over who adopts the child. Absent fraud or duress, it is final and irrevocable and does not allow the parent to name a specific person who will adopt the child. 

A specific consent is a document that a parent signs before a judge, hearing or specified caseworker when the parent wants to consent to the adoption of his/her child by a specific caretaker. Absent fraud or duress, it is final and irrevocable to the adoption by the specific caretaker. Specific consents are good for one year. If the Adoption Petition is not filed within the year the consent becomes revocable and the parent could ask to become part of the case again. 

Possible Results 

There are two parts to the termination trial. 

• The first portion determines whether a parent is unfit. If the State cannot prove that the parent is unfit parental rights will not be terminated; the child will remain under guardianship and the case will be set for a new permanency hearing to determine the appropriate goal. If the parent(s) are found unfit, then the State must prove that it is the best interest of the child to terminate the rights of the biological parent(s). 
• If the State cannot prove that it is in the child’s best interest to terminate parental rights; the child will remain under guardianship and the case will be set for a new permanency hearing to determine the appropriate goal. If the State does prove it is in the child’s best interest to terminate parental rights, the Court will terminate the rights and give the DCFS Guardianship Administrator the right to consent to adoption of the child. The case remains open in Juvenile Court until the adoption is finalized. The adoption usually occurs in a different court.

Adoption 

In an Adoption Hearing, the Court grants legal custody of the minor child to his/her adoptive parents. The child and parents assume all rights and responsibilities as if this were a biological child. 

Expedited Adoption: This program allows a case to by-pass a Juvenile Court termination trial and proceed to adoption court for termination and adoption. The termination must not be contested because one of the following is true for each of the biological parents: parent has signed a consent or surrender; parent’s whereabouts are unknown after a diligent search; one parent’s rights are terminated; parent(s) identity is unknown; or the parent(s) are deceased. 

In Cook County the caseworker refers the case through the DCFS regional pre-screening unit and the Adoption Hearing is in the County Division. In other counties the hearing may or may not be in a different court.

The DCFS Guardianship Administrator consents to the adoption. The prospective adoptive parent(s) hire a private attorney, although there is a DCFS reimbursement policy. The child usually is appointed a new GAL in the hearing. If successful, the Court grants the adoption and the adoptive parents become the new parents with all the rights and responsibilities as if they were biological parents. The last name of the child may be changed and a new birth certificate will be issued. The Juvenile Court case remains open until a final decree of adoption. The caseworker should submit a copy of the final decree to DCFS legal which will redact the necessary information and submit it to the Court. 

Reinstatement of Parental Rights 

The law allows for a parent’s rights to be reinstated under certain circumstances. Only the DCFS attorney may file a motion to reinstate parental rights if all of the following are true: 

• The minor is thirteen years old or older or is the younger sibling of a child who meets the criteria and the younger sibling independently meets the criteria (except for age). 
• More than three years have elapsed since the parent’s rights were terminated. 
• The minor is not currently in a placement likely to achieve permanency. 
• The minor has remained a youth in care of the court or was placed in private guardianship and that guardianship has been vacated OR. 
• The minor was adopted and the adoptive parent(s) are deceased, signed a surrender or the adoptive parent’s rights were terminated. 
• It is in the minor’s best interest that parental rights be reinstated. 
• The parent wishes parental rights to be reinstated and is currently appropriate to have rights reinstated. 705 ILCS 405/2-34. 

DCFS is required to make reasonable efforts to locate parents whose rights have been terminated unless the Court says efforts will be futile or inconsistent with the child’s best interest. The Department must assess the appropriateness of the parent and if appropriate, foster and support connections between the parent and the youth. The caseworker must provide documentation regarding their recommendation as to reinstating parental rights and their efforts to foster connections in the child’s service plan. 

Guardianship 

Private Guardianship is a proceeding by which an individual other than the parent obtains legal custody of a youth in care. The parents’ rights are not terminated and if circumstances change the parents can seek to vacate the private guardianship. Private guardianship is often used in Juvenile Court to obtain permanency for a child. After private guardianship is granted the case is closed. Because the parents’ rights are not terminated, the parents may come into court and seek to change visitation or seek custody of their child any time prior to the minor’s eighteenth birthday.

KinGap refers to the Department’s subsidized private guardianship program. After the guardianship is granted, DCFS will pay a monthly subsidy to the guardian. The requirements for KinGap are: 

• Minor must be placed with a licensed relative caregiver who has been licensed for six months. 
• Return home or adoption is not an appropriate permanency option. 
• A minor 14 years old or older can receive a KinGap subsidy if placed with a licensed non-relative caregiver. 

In a guardianship proceeding, the parties are the proposed private guardian, usually the current caregiver, DCFS legal, the youth in care represented by the GAL, the ASA and the parents, if their rights have not been terminated. The caseworker needs to be present and testify. 

Guardianship screening is a process used by DCFS legal to determine whether a case is ready for the filing of Petition For Guardianship. DCFS legal drafts, files and presents these cases. The worker makes an appointment with the regional office and the screening with the caseworker is conducted by a paralegal with an attorney’s assistance if necessary. Specific information, which is needed for the screening, is available from DCFS legal.

Possible Results: 

The Court can decide whether to grant private guardianship. Once the petition is filed, the case is set for a hearing date. A party, usually the parents, can contest private guardianship. If the Court grants private guardianship the case is closed. Even though closed, the Court retains jurisdiction. At a future date, the guardian or the parent can petition the Court to vacate the guardianship. If the Court does not grant private guardianship the child will remain under his/her current guardianship, usually DCFS, and the case will be set for a new permanency hearing to determine the appropriate goal. 

Case Closure by Age 

A minor must be under the age of eighteen to be the subject of a Petition for Temporary Custody. Many court youth in care return home or are adopted or placed under private guardianship. These proceedings close the case. If the case is not closed for one of these reasons once wardship is granted it statutorily ends at age nineteen unless expressly continued by the Court prior to the youth in care’s nineteenth birthday. If wardship is continued it can extend to age twenty-one. A party can ask for case closure prior to age nineteen, but it is not the practice to request case closure or for the Court to grant it unless the youth in care is at least eighteen. 

Possible Results:

At age nineteen the minor’s case will close automatically unless the Court extends wardship. Wardship and guardianship can be extended until the age of twenty-one. There is no circumstance in which a court case can stay open past the age of twenty-one. If a minor is approaching his/her nineteenth birthday and the worker believes that wardship and/or guardianship should be extended the worker should notify the GAL and DCFS legal to ensure that the proper motion is filed.

A party can bring a motion for closure before age nineteen. These motions are generally not brought before the eighteenth birthday and involve youth who are mature enough to live on their own and express a desire to leave the DCFS system. This motion is usually brought by DCFS legal on the recommendation and appropriate documentation from the caseworker. 

A minor may come back into DCFS care. The court may reinstate wardship any time prior to the minor’s 21st birthday and open a previously closed case when a minor’s case closed without the minor being adopted or being appointed a legal guardian. The minor must not be currently a youth in care of the court for delinquency matters and it must be in the minor’s best interest for wardship to be reinstated. 705 ILCS 405/2-33

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