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HB 3600

Relating to housing.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Tom Andersen

Expands safe surrender duties to include child rescue pods and broader emergency care at hospitals, fire/police stations, ensuring surrendered newborns receive immediate medical at

In committee upon adjournment.
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Bill Summary · HB 3600

HB 3600 — Relating to housing (actually amends the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act)

Sponsor: Rep. Jackie Haas
Introduced: Feb 18, 2025 (filed Mar 3, 2025)
Amends: 325 ILCS 2/10 and 2/20 (Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act)
Status: In committee upon adjournment (committee activity through 2025-06-28)

Purpose / Intent

The bill updates the Abandoned Newborn Infant Protection Act to (1) add and define a new term, “child rescue pod,” and (2) clarify and expand the types of emergency care that hospitals, fire stations, police stations, and emergency medical facilities must provide when a newborn is relinquished under the Act. The changes aim to ensure safe surrender locations can provide immediate, appropriate care for surrendered newborns and clarify facility responsibilities.

Key provisions

  • Adds definition (325 ILCS 2/10):
    • “Child rescue pod” means a medical device used to maintain an optimal environment for the care of a newborn infant.
    • Clarifies or adds definitions for “emergency medical facility” (includes freestanding emergency centers and trauma centers), “fire station” (a station with at least one staff person), and expands listing of emergency medical professionals.
  • Amends procedures (325 ILCS 2/20):
    • Every hospital must accept a relinquished newborn and provide “all necessary emergency services and care.” The bill states that such care may include having a child rescue pod available for use if the hospital has an emergency department that is staffed and monitored at all times.
    • The act of relinquishing serves as implied consent for hospitals and emergency personnel to examine and treat the infant.
    • Hospitals are deemed to have temporary protective custody until discharge of the infant to DCFS or a licensed child welfare agency; hospitals must provide medical records and related information to the Department and receiving agency.
    • Fire stations and emergency medical facilities must accept relinquished newborns, provide necessary emergency care (to the extent personnel are trained), and arrange transport to the nearest hospital as soon as possible. If a parent returns within 30 days after relinquishment to such locations, the facility must inform them where the infant was transported.
    • Police stations must accept relinquished newborns and arrange transport to the nearest hospital (text truncated in the provided version).

Who is affected

  • Hospitals (especially those with staffed, monitored emergency departments)
  • Freestanding emergency centers, trauma centers, and other emergency medical facilities
  • Fire stations and police stations (as safe-surrender locations)
  • Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and licensed child welfare agencies
  • Parents/birthing persons (who choose safe surrender)
  • Emergency medical personnel (protocols, training, and transport responsibilities)

Procedural status & timeline

  • First reading and referred to various committees Feb–Mar 2025 (Rules, Speaker’s desk, Housing and Homelessness, Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence).
  • Read first time: 2025-03-25; currently listed as “In committee upon adjournment” as of 2025-06-28.

Potential impacts & considerations

  • Operational: hospitals with staffed EDs may choose to acquire child rescue pods; facilities will need protocols for use, record-sharing, and transport.
  • Legal/administrative: preserves implied consent and temporary custody framework; clarifies responsibilities across multiple facility types.
  • Financial: procurement, staffing, training, and transport costs could arise if facilities adopt child rescue pods or revise procedures (bill language uses “may include,” so mandating costs is not explicit).
  • Implementation detail: training standards, technical specifications for “child rescue pods,” and funding mechanisms are not specified in the text provided.

Note: The provided bill text was truncated in places (e.g., some hospital/policy return-period language). Where the source is incomplete, this summary avoids assuming missing specifics.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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