225 ILCS 10/4.3a: Child Abuse and Neglect Reports; Department of Early Childhood.

All early care and education provider license applicants and all current and prospective employees of an early care and education center, early care and education home, or group early care and education home who have any possible contact with children in the course of their duties, as a condition of such licensure or employment, shall authorize in writing on a form prescribed by the Department of Early Childhood an investigation of the Central Register, as defined in the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, to ascertain if such applicant or employee has been determined to be a perpetrator in an indicated report of child abuse or neglect. All early care and education providers as a condition of licensure pursuant to this Act shall maintain such information which demonstrates that all current employees and other applicants for employment who have any possible contact with children in the course of their duties have authorized an investigation of the Central Register as hereinabove required. Only those current or prospective employees who will have no possible contact with children as part of their present or prospective employment may be excluded from provisions requiring authorization of an investigation. Such information concerning a license applicant, employee or prospective employee obtained by the Department of Early Childhood shall be confidential and exempt from public inspection and copying as provided under Section 7 of The Freedom of Information Act, and such information shall not be transmitted outside the Department of Early Childhood, except as provided in the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, and shall not be transmitted to anyone within the Department of Early Childhood except as provided in the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act, and shall not be transmitted to anyone within the Department of Early Childhood except as needed for the purposes of evaluation of an application for licensure or for consideration by an early care and education provider of an employee. Any employee of the Department of Early Childhood under this Section who gives or causes to be given any confidential information concerning any child abuse or neglect reports about an early care and education provider applicant or early care and education provider employee shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, unless release of such information is authorized by Section 11.1 of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. Additionally, any licensee who is informed by the Department of Children and Family Services, pursuant to Section 7.4 of the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act that a formal investigation has commenced relating to an employee of the early care and education provider or any other person in frequent contact with children at the provider shall take reasonable action necessary to ensure that the employee or other person is restricted during the pendency of the investigation from contact with children whose care has been entrusted to the provider.