Illinois Lawyer Referrals and Legal Guidance
Illinois Adoption Laws On Investigation And Process
To research the different Illinois adoption laws, Chicago lawyers and other lawyers in Illinois, refer to the Illinois Complied Statutes Chapter 750 ILCS 50/ – Adoption Act. Illinois adoption laws provide the following rules on investigation and process.
(750 ILCS 50/6)
Sec. 6. A. Investigation; all cases. Within 10 days after the
filing of a petition for the adoption or standby adoption of a child
other than a related child, the court shall appoint a child welfare
agency approved by the Department of Children and Family Services, or a
person deemed competent by the court, or in Cook County the Court
Services Division of the Cook County Department of Public Aid, or the
Department of Children and Family Services if the court determines that
no child welfare agency is available or that the petitioner is
financially unable to pay for the investigation, to investigate
accurately, fully and promptly, the allegations contained in the
petition; the character, reputation, health and general standing in the
community of the petitioners; the religious faith of the petitioners
and, if ascertainable, of the child sought to be adopted; and whether
the petitioners are proper persons to adopt the child and whether the
child is a proper subject of adoption. The investigation required under
this Section shall include a criminal background check with a review of
fingerprints by State and federal authorities. The criminal background
check required by this Section shall include a listing of when, where
and by whom the criminal background check was prepared. The criminal
background check required by this Section shall not be more than two
years old.
Neither a clerk of the circuit court nor a judge may require that a
criminal background check or fingerprint review be filed with, or at the
same time as, an initial petition for adoption.
B. Investigation; foreign-born child. In the case of a child born
outside the United States or a territory thereof, in addition to the
investigation required under subsection (A) of this Section, a
post-placement investigation shall be conducted in accordance with the
requirements of the Child Care Act of 1969, the Interstate Compact on
the Placement of Children, and regulations of the foreign placing agency
and the supervising agency.
The requirements of a post-placement investigation shall be deemed
to have been satisfied if a valid final order or judgment of adoption
has been entered by a court of competent jurisdiction in a country other
than the United States or a territory thereof with respect to such child
and the petitioners.
C. Report of investigation. The court shall determine whether the
costs of the investigation shall be charged to the petitioners. The
information obtained as a result of such investigation shall be
presented to the court in a written report. The results of the criminal
background check required under subsection (A) shall be provided to the
court for its review. The court may, in its discretion, weigh the
significance of the results of the criminal background check against the
entirety of the background of the petitioners. The Court, in its
discretion, may accept the report of the investigation previously made
by a licensed child welfare agency, if made within one year prior to the
entry of the judgment. Such report shall be treated as confidential and
withheld from inspection unless findings adverse to the petitioners or
to the child sought to be adopted are contained therein, and in that
event the court shall inform the petitioners of the relevant portions
pertaining to the adverse findings. In no event shall any facts set
forth in the report be considered at the hearing of the proceeding,
unless established by competent evidence. The report shall be filed with
the record of the proceeding. If the file relating to the proceeding is
not impounded, the report shall be impounded by the clerk of the court
and shall be made available for inspection only upon order of the court.
D. Related adoption. Such investigation shall not be made when the
petition seeks to adopt a related child or an adult unless the court, in
its discretion, shall so order. In such an event the court may appoint a
person deemed competent by the court.
(Source: P.A. 91-429, eff. 1-1-00; 91-572, eff. 1-1-00; 91-740, eff.
6-2-00.)
(750 ILCS 50/7)
Sec. 7. Process.
A. All persons named in the petition for adoption or standby
adoption, other than the petitioners and any party who has previously
either denied being a parent pursuant to Section 12a of this Act or
whose rights have been terminated pursuant to Section 12a of this Act,
but including the person sought to be adopted, shall be made parties
defendant by name, and if the name or names of any such persons are
alleged in the petition to be unknown such persons shall be made parties
defendant under the name and style of "All whom it may concern".
In all
such actions petitioner or his attorney shall file, at the office of the
clerk of the court in which the action is pending, an affidavit showing
that the defendant resides or has gone out of this State, or on due
inquiry cannot be found, or is concealed within this State, so that
process cannot be served upon him, and stating the place of residence of
the defendant, if known, or that upon diligent inquiry his place of
residence cannot be ascertained, the clerk shall cause publication to be
made in some newspaper published in the county in which the action is
pending. If there is no newspaper published in that county, then the
publication shall be in a newspaper published in an adjoining county in
this State, having a circulation in the county in which such action is
pending. In the event there is service on any of the parties by
publication, the publication shall contain notice of pendency of the
action, the name of the person to be adopted and the name of the parties
to be served by publication, and the date on or after which default may
be entered against such parties. Neither the name of petitioners nor the
name of any party who has either surrendered said child, has given their
consent to the adoption of the child, or whose parental rights have been
terminated by a court of competent jurisdiction shall be included in the
notice of publication. The Clerk shall also, within ten (10) days of the
first publication of the notice, send a copy thereof by mail, addressed
to each defendant whose place of residence is stated in such affidavit.
The certificate of the Clerk that he sent the copies pursuant to this
section is evidence that he has done so. Except as provided in this
section pertaining to service by publication, all parties defendant
shall be notified of the proceedings in the same manner as is now or may
hereafter be required in other civil cases or proceedings. Any party
defendant who is of age of 14 years or upward may waive service of
process by entering an appearance in writing. The form to be used for
publication shall be substantially as follows: "ADOPTION NOTICE - STATE
OF ILLINOIS, County of ...., ss. - Circuit Court of .... County. In the
matter of the Petition for the Adoption of ...., a ..male child.
Adoption No. ..... To-- .... (whom it may concern or the named parent)
Take notice that a petition was filed in the Circuit Court of ....
County, Illinois, for the adoption of a child named ..... Now,
therefore, unless you ...., and all whom it may concern, file your
answer to the Petition in the action or otherwise file your appearance
therein, in the said Circuit Court of ...., County, Room ...., ...., in
the City of ...., Illinois, on or before the .... day of ...., a default
may be entered against you at any time after that day and a judgment
entered in accordance with the prayer of said Petition. Dated, ....,
Illinois, .... ...., Clerk. (Name and address of attorney for
petitioners.)
B. A minor defendant who has been served in accordance with this
Section may be defaulted in the same manner as any other defendant.
C. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of this or any other
law, and in addition to the notice requirements of any law pertaining to
persons other than those specified in this subsection, the persons
entitled to notice that a petition has been filed under Section 5 of
this Act shall include:
(a) any person adjudicated by a court in this State to be the
father of the child;
(b) any person adjudicated by a court of another state or
territory of the United States to be the father of the child, when a
certified copy of the court order has been filed with the Putative
Father Registry under Section 12.1 of this Act;
(c) any person who at the time of the filing of the petition
is registered in the Putative Father Registry under Section 12.1 of
this Act as the putative father of the child;
(d) any person who is recorded on the child's birth
certificate as the child's father;
(e) any person who is openly living with the child or the
child's mother at the time the proceeding is initiated and who is
holding himself out to be the child's father;
(f) any person who has been identified as the child's father
by the mother in a written, sworn statement, including an Affidavit
of Identification as specified under Section 11 of this Act;
(g) any person who was married to the child's mother on the
date of the child's birth or within 300 days prior to the child's
birth.
The sole purpose of notice under this Section shall be to enable the
person receiving notice to appear in the adoption proceedings to present
evidence to the court relevant to the best interests of the child.
Many Illinois lawyers including numerous Chicago lawyers have made Illinois adoption law the focus of their practice. Please do not hesitate to contact us for a referral to an Illinois attorney that can assist
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