Illinois Becomes First State to Require Transparency When Child Abuse Pediatricians Participate in Investigations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact Michelle Weidner michelle@famjustice.org Office: (309) 273-1830

From left: Rachel Harris, FJRC Board President; Tara Crady, FJRC Board Treasurer; State Representative Mary Beth Canty, House sponsor; Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford, Senate sponsor; Michelle Weidner, FJRC Executive Director; and Mary Broderick, Founding Board Member.

SPRINGFIELD, IL — Governor JB Pritzker has signed the Protecting Innocent Families Act, HB 3169, into law, making Illinois the first state to require child abuse pediatricians and their clinical teams to disclose their forensic role to families.

Sponsored by State Representative Mary Beth Canty and Senate Majority Leader Kimberly A. Lightford, the measure addresses a longstanding lack of disclosure in hospital-based child abuse investigations. While all healthcare professionals are mandated reporters who must report suspected abuse, child abuse pediatricians and their clinical teams operate in a distinct, contracted capacity with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and Children’s Advocacy Centers. Embedded in children’s hospitals, they appear to families to be members of the treating team even as their primary role is to conduct forensic evaluations, take photo documentation, question parents, order radiological tests for investigative purposes, and relay their findings directly to DCFS and law enforcement. Their medical opinions are relied upon by DCFS, law enforcement, and prosecutors to make decisions about family separation and criminal prosecution. Child abuse pediatricians then testify as the state’s expert witnesses in court proceedings. That influence is especially consequential because many findings associated with abuse can also result from common household accidents or complex medical conditions. Fractures, bruising, bleeding, seizures, and failure to thrive can be caused by birth injuries, genetic disorders, metabolic disease, nutritional deficiencies, bleeding disorders, and other conditions that may take years to diagnose. When a child abuse pediatrician interprets those findings as abuse before the child’s full medical history is reviewed, treating physicians are consulted, and plausible accidental or medical explanations are considered, that conclusion can redirect the child’s care and have undue influence on DCFS, law enforcement, prosecutors, and the courts as though it has been independently confirmed. The result is an appearance of institutional certainty even when every decision traces back to the same untested forensic opinion. “When a parent brings their child to the hospital, they naturally assume every healthcare professional involved is part of the treatment team,” said Michelle Weidner, Executive Director of the Family Justice Resource Center. “Parents have no way of knowing that child abuse pediatricians and their teams may be conducting a forensic evaluation that will be used by DCFS and law enforcement. The American Medical Association recognizes that when a physician is acting on behalf of a third party, the physician should disclose that relationship and explain how the role differs from that of a traditional treating physician. That transparency is especially important because innocent parents can suddenly become the subjects of an abuse investigation when a child’s injury or medical condition is misunderstood. Parents have a right to know who is treating their child, who is investigating their family, and how the information they provide will be used. No parent should unknowingly participate in a forensic investigation presented as ordinary medical care.” The Protecting Innocent Families Act establishes several new protections for Illinois families:

• Child abuse pediatricians and their clinical teams must be transparent about their identity, specialty and subspecialty, and the purpose of their involvement in a medical evaluation.

• DCFS must separately notify parents when it seeks a child abuse pediatrican’s opinion for an abuse or neglect investigation. 

• Parents must be notified that they can request and receive a copy of the child abuse pediatrician’s written opinion submitted to DCFS, allowing them to see the medical conclusions being used in the investigation.

• Parents must be notified of their right to obtain and submit an independent second medical opinion, at their own expense, before the investigation concludes. If one is submitted, DCFS must consider it before making its determination, so the child abuse pediatrician’s conclusion is not the only medical opinion before the agency.

Developed by the Family Justice Resource Center, the legislation was supported by a broad bipartisan coalition that includes the Office of the Cook County Public Defender, the ACLU of Illinois, Legal Action Chicago, and the Parental Rights Foundation. It passed both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly unanimously and takes effect January 1, 2027. About the Family Justice Resource Center: The Family Justice Resource Center is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the accuracy, fairness, and transparency of child abuse investigations involving complex medical evidence. FJRC assists families and their attorneys in accessing qualified medical experts, promotes interdisciplinary education and policy reform, and works to ensure that child protection decisions are informed by complete and reliable medical evidence. The organization developed the Protecting Innocent Families Act based on recurring problems identified through its work with families across the country. Learn more at www.famjustice.org.