After the Department has indicated a report and issued a notice
of the final finding determination and the right to an administrative hearing,
the perpetrator named in the notification may appeal by filing a timely and
sufficient written Request for Appeal with the Administrative Hearings Unit
(AHU). The request must be filed in person, mailed, faxed or delivered by a
third-party commercial carrier to the AHU address or fax number within 60 days
after the notification sent by the State Central Register (SCR); however, the
60 days is tolled for those exceptions in subsection (e). Upon receipt of a
timely request for a regular appeal, the Department shall send the appellant,
prior to the scheduled pre-hearing, a copy of the investigative file from which
confidential information has been deleted in accordance with 89 Ill. Adm. Code
431.
a) For purposes of determining
timeliness, an appeal shall be deemed filed:
1) as of the date of the postmark;
2) as of the date of receipt by the AHU, if
the appeal was filed in person at the AHU office; or
3) the date the appeal was received by
electronic facsimile transmission at the AHU office or the date of electronic
filing (email), when available.
b) When the last day for the filing of an
appeal falls upon a day on which the AHU is not open for business, an appeal
shall be deemed timely if filed by the first regular business day
thereafter.
c) An appeal shall be
deemed sufficient if it provides the following information in legible form:
1) name, address and phone number (if any) of
the appellant and the SCR number; and
2) name, address and phone number of the
appellant's representative (if applicable).
d) In the event that the Chief Administrative
Law Judge finds an appeal to be timely but not sufficient (see subsection (c)),
the appeal and a request for the required missing information shall be returned
to the appellant within 5 days after receipt by the AHU. If the appellant
re-files a sufficient appeal within 5 days from the postmark of the date that
appeal is returned, the appeal shall be considered timely. The AHU shall not
consider an appeal actionable, and no time frames shall begin to run, until
receipt of a sufficient appeal. If the appeal does not have a legible name or
address, the Chief ALJ may dismiss the appeal.
e)
The 60-day deadline for filing a
request to amend the record or remove the record of the report from the State
Central Register shall be tolled until after the conclusion of any criminal
court action in the circuit court or after adjudication in any juvenile court
action concerning the circumstances that give rise to an indicated
report. [
325
ILCS 5/7.16 ]
f) If the appellant requests an expedited
hearing, and the Chief ALJ is unable to determine if the appellant is a child
care worker, the Chief ALJ shall request that the appellant provide
documentation to validate his or her child care worker status as soon as is
practicable, but not later than 5 days after receiving the appellant's request.
Any documentation requested by the Chief ALJ should be provided by the
appellant within 10 days after the request. If no such documentation is
provided, the appeal will be deemed non-expedited and scheduled accordingly. If
the appellant makes a timely submission of the requested documentation, the
Chief ALJ shall make a written ruling on the child care worker's status as
promptly as possible, but no later than 5 days after receiving the appellant's
documentation. A written notification of the Chief ALJ's decision shall be sent
to the appellant. Any time expended for the request, review and determination
by the Chief ALJ as to the appellant's status as a child care worker shall not
be attributed to the Department.
g)
Appellants unable to file a written request for an appeal may request and
receive appropriate assistance from Department field office staff to ensure
that a proper written request for an appeal is made.
