1. (a) For the purposes of this Section, an individual's status as a youth in care may be verified:

   1. (1) with a copy of the court order placing the youth in the guardianship or custody of the Department of Children and Family Services or terminating the Department of Children and Family Services' guardianship or custody of the youth; or

   2. (2) by a human services agency, legal services agency, or other similar agency that has knowledge of the individual's youth in care status, including, but not limited to:

      1. (A) a child welfare agency, including the Department of Children and Family Services; or

      2. (B) the attorney or guardian ad litem who served as the youth in care's attorney or guardian ad litem during proceedings under the Juvenile Court Act of 1987. A person described in subsection (b) of this Section must not be charged for verification under this Section.

         A person who knowingly or purposefully falsifies this verification is subject to a penalty of $100.

2. (b) The applicable fees under Section 17 for a new certificate of birth and under Section 25 of this Act for a search for a birth record or a certified copy of a birth record shall be waived for all requests made by:

   1. (1) a youth in care, as defined in Section 4d of the Children and Family Services Act, whose status is verified under subsection (a) of this Section; or
   2. (2) a person under the age of 27 who was a youth in care, as defined in Section 4d of the Children and Family Services Act, on or after his or her 18th birthday and whose status is verified under subsection (a) of this Section. The State Registrar of Vital Records shall establish standards and procedures consistent with this Section for waiver of the applicable fees.
3. (c) A person shall be provided no more than 4 birth records annually under this Section.

(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 102-1141, eff. 7-1-23.)