New Law Allows Orders of Protection for Foster Parents, Legal Guardians and Adoptive Parents in Illinois

Article written by Illinois Attorney Kevin O’Flaherty

In this article we explain HB 4796, a new Illinois law went into effect in 2019 to amend the Domestic Violence Act and Criminal Code in order to allow foster parents, legal guardians and adoptive parents who are abused by a family or household member of a child to seek an order of protection. We answer the questions, “Who is protected under the Domestic Violence Act?” “What protections can someone seek?” and “Who is considered a family or household member of a child?”

Can foster parents, guardians, and adoptive parents seek orders of protection in Illinois?

HB 4796 amends the Illinois Domestic Violence Act of 1986 and the Protective Orders Article of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. It adds the following people as protected if they’re abused by a family or household member of a child:

· A foster parent of that child if the child has been placed in the foster parent’s home by the Department of Children and Family Services or by a different state’s public child welfare agency

· A legally appointed guardian or legally appointed custodian of the child

· An adoptive parent of the child or a prospective adoptive parent if the child has been placed in the prospective adoptive parent’s home pursuant…