Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
FFY 2012 Annual Progress and Services Report
124
The Department shall maintain a record of each placement of an Indian child that includes efforts
to comply with the order of preference specified in this Section. The Department shall make
these records available for inspection, at any time, upon the request of the Secretary or the Indian
child's tribe.
Retaining Custody of an Indian Child
When seeking temporary custody or placement of, or termination of parental rights to, an Indian
child, the Department shall inform the court that the child named in the petition or motion is an
Indian child as soon as that information becomes known.
Excluding extraordinary circumstances, the Department may retain temporary custody of an
Indian child for a reasonable period of time not to exceed 90 days. Continued custody after that
period may occur only upon a court finding, based upon the testimony of a qualified expert
witness, that the child is likely to suffer serious emotional or physical injury if returned to the
custody of the parent or Indian custodian. The court's finding shall be supported by clear and
convincing evidence.
Each party to an involuntary placement proceeding involving an Indian child shall have the right
to examine all reports or other documents that the Department may present during the
proceedings.
Terminating Parental Rights
When the Department determines at an internal legal screening (as defined in 89 Ill. Adm. Code
309.80 (Termination of Parental Rights)) that adoption is in the best interests of an Indian child
and sufficient legal grounds exist for termination of parental rights, the Department shall notify
the State's Attorney of the names and addresses of the child's parents or Indian custodian and the
child's tribe for purposes of the Juvenile Court proceeding, if these persons or the tribe have not
been previously served.
The Department shall request the State's Attorney to notify the tribe so the tribe may intervene in
a proceeding for the termination of parental rights.
To terminate parental rights, the court must find, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the child is
likely to suffer serious emotional or physical injury if returned to the custody of his or her parent
or Indian custodian. The court's finding shall be based upon the testimony of a qualified expert
witness. (See 25 USC 1912(f).) Each party to a proceeding to terminate parental rights that
involves an Indian child shall have the right to examine all reports or other documents that the
Department may present during the proceedings.
When a parent or Indian custodian voluntarily consents to a foster care placement, or when a
parent voluntarily consents to termination of his or her parental rights, the consent shall not be
valid unless executed in writing and acknowledged before a judge of a court of competent
jurisdiction and accompanied by the judge's certificate that the terms and consequences of the
consent were fully explained in detail and were fully understood by the parent or Indian
custodian. The court shall also certify that the parent or Indian custodian fully understood the
explanation in English or that it was interpreted into a language that the parent or Indian
