Illinois · Through at least Public Act 104-790

20 ILCS 505/4d: Definitions.

(a) As used in this Act:
"Caregiver" means a certified relative caregiver, relative caregiver, or foster parent with whom a youth in care is placed.
"Certified relative caregiver" has the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 2.36 of the Child Care Act of 1969.
"Certified relative caregiver home" has the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 2.37 of the Child Care Act of 1969.
"Child-specific record" or "youth-specific record" means documentation maintained separately for an individual child or youth within a family's case file.
"Fictive kin" means a person who is unrelated to a child by birth, marriage, tribal custom, or adoption who is shown to have significant and close personal or emotional ties with the child or the child's family.
"Relative" means a person who is: (i) related to a child by blood, marriage, tribal custom, adoption, or to a child's sibling in any of the foregoing ways, even though the person is not related to the child, when the child and the child's sibling are placed together with that person or (ii) fictive kin. For children who have been in the guardianship of the Department following the termination of their parents' parental rights, been adopted or placed in subsidized or unsubsidized guardianship, and are subsequently returned to the temporary custody or guardianship of the Department, "relative" includes any person who would have qualified as a relative under this Section prior to the termination of the parents' parental rights if the Department determines, and documents, or the court finds that it would be in the child's best interests to consider this person a relative, based upon the factors for determining best interests set forth in subsection (4.05) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
"Relative caregiver" means a person responsible for the care and supervision of a child placed by the Department, other than the parent, who is a relative.
"Relative home" means a home of a relative that is not a foster family home or a certified relative caregiver home but provides care to a child placed by the Department who is a relative of a household member of the relative's home.
"Sensitive identity information" means personal data that is linked or reasonably linkable to a child or youth and identifies the child's or youth's sexual orientation, as the term is defined in subsection (O-1) of Section 1-103 of the Illinois Human Rights Act.
"Subsidized guardian" means a person who signs a subsidized guardianship agreement prior to being appointed as plenary guardian of the person of a minor.
"Subsidized guardianship" means a permanency outcome when a caregiver is appointed as a plenary guardian of the person of a minor exiting the foster care system, who receives guardianship assistance program payments. Payments may be funded through State funds, federal funds, or both State and federal funds.
"Third party" means any person, government unit, agency, organization, or body other than the Department of Children and Family Services. "Third party" does not include a recipient of Department records who is an attorney representing a child.
"Youth in care" means persons placed in the temporary custody or guardianship of the Department pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.
(b) The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly apply on and after September 1, 2026 if the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly is on or before September 1, 2026; otherwise, the changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly apply on and after December 1, 2026.

Where this section sits in the code

CHAPTER 20 EXECUTIVE BRANCH
Children and Family Services Act.

(a) As used in this Act:

"Caregiver" means a certified relative caregiver, relative caregiver, or foster parent with whom a youth in care is placed.

"Certified relative caregiver" has the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 2.36 of the Child Care Act of 1969.

"Certified relative caregiver home" has the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 2.37 of the Child Care Act of 1969.

"Child-specific record" or "youth-specific record" means documentation maintained separately for an individual child or youth within a family's case file.

"Fictive kin" means a person who is unrelated to a child by birth, marriage, tribal custom, or adoption who is shown to have significant and close personal or emotional ties with the child or the child's family.

"Relative" means a person who is: (i) related to a child by blood, marriage, tribal custom, adoption, or to a child's sibling in any of the foregoing ways, even though the person is not related to the child, when the child and the child's sibling are placed together with that person or (ii) fictive kin. For children who have been in the guardianship of the Department following the termination of their parents' parental rights, been adopted or placed in subsidized or unsubsidized guardianship, and are subsequently returned to the temporary custody or guardianship of the Department, "relative" includes any person who would have qualified as a relative under this Section prior to the termination of the parents' parental rights if the Department determines, and documents, or the court finds that it would be in the child's best interests to consider this person a relative, based upon the factors for determining best interests set forth in subsection (4.05) of Section 1-3 of the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.

"Relative caregiver" means a person responsible for the care and supervision of a child placed by the Department, other than the parent, who is a relative.

"Relative home" means a home of a relative that is not a foster family home or a certified relative caregiver home but provides care to a child placed by the Department who is a relative of a household member of the relative's home.

"Sensitive identity information" means personal data that is linked or reasonably linkable to a child or youth and identifies the child's or youth's sexual orientation, as the term is defined in subsection (O-1) of Section 1-103 of the Illinois Human Rights Act.

"Subsidized guardian" means a person who signs a subsidized guardianship agreement prior to being appointed as plenary guardian of the person of a minor.

"Subsidized guardianship" means a permanency outcome when a caregiver is appointed as a plenary guardian of the person of a minor exiting the foster care system, who receives guardianship assistance program payments. Payments may be funded through State funds, federal funds, or both State and federal funds.

"Third party" means any person, government unit, agency, organization, or body other than the Department of Children and Family Services. "Third party" does not include a recipient of Department records who is an attorney representing a child.

"Youth in care" means persons placed in the temporary custody or guardianship of the Department pursuant to the Juvenile Court Act of 1987.

(b) The changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly apply on and after September 1, 2026 if the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly is on or before September 1, 2026; otherwise, the changes made to this Section by this amendatory Act of the 104th General Assembly apply on and after December 1, 2026.

Collected 2026-09-15T04:46:13Z. Source file · JSON

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