1. (a) When a report is made by a mandated reporter to the statewide toll-free telephone number established under Section 7.6 of this Act and there is a prior indicated report of abuse or neglect, or there is a prior open service case involving any member of the household, the Department must, at a minimum, accept the report as a child welfare services referral. If the family refuses to cooperate or refuses access to the home or children, then a child protective services investigation shall be initiated if the facts otherwise meet the criteria to accept a report.

   As used in this Section, "child welfare services referral" means an assessment of the family for service needs and linkage to available local community resources for the purpose of preventing or remedying or assisting in the solution of problems which may result in the neglect, abuse, exploitation, or delinquency of children, and as further defined in Department rules and procedures.

   As used in this Section, "prior open service case" means a case in which the Department has provided services to the family either directly or through a purchase of service agency.

2. (b) One year after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 101st General Assembly, the Auditor General shall commence a performance audit of the Department of Children and Family Services to determine whether the Department is meeting the requirements of this Section. Within 2 years after the audit's release, the Auditor General shall commence a follow-up performance audit to determine whether the Department has implemented the recommendations contained in the initial performance audit. Upon completion of each audit, the Auditor General shall report its findings to the General Assembly. The Auditor General's reports shall include any issues or deficiencies and recommendations. The audits required by this Section shall be in accordance with and subject to the Illinois State Auditing Act.

(Source: P.A. 103-460, eff. 1-1-24.)