Section 336.120 The Administrative Law Judge

Section 336

Section 336.120  The

Administrative Law Judge

a)         Appointment of the ALJ

The Chief

Administrative Law Judge shall select a trained, impartial ALJ from the

available pool to conduct the appeal hearing. The ALJ shall:

1)         be an attorney licensed to practice law in the State of

Illinois;

2)         possess knowledge and information acquired through training

and/or experience relevant to the field of child and family welfare law,

including familiarity with Department rules, procedures and functions;

3)         not have been involved in the decision to take the action

being appealed or have rendered legal advice to the decision-maker on the

issue; and

4)         not have a personal or professional interest that interferes

with exercising objectivity or have any bias against the parties or issues

appealed. An adverse ruling, in and of itself, shall not constitute bias or

conflict of interest.

b)         Functions of the ALJ

The

Administrative Law Judge shall have all authority allowed under the Illinois

Administrative Procedure Act [5 ILCS 100].  This authority shall include, but

is not limited to, the following:

1)         conduct a fair, impartial and formal hearing in which the strict

rules of evidence do not apply;

2)         provide for the recording of the hearing;

3)         inform participants of their individual rights and their

responsibilities;

4)         conduct pre-hearing telephone conferences between the parties

or their authorized representatives to provide information about the procedural

aspects of the hearing, narrow the issues and discuss possible stipulations and

contested points of law, in order to expedite the actual hearing;

5)         have the authority to recommend changes in the child abuse and

neglect report in the State Central Register;

6)         take necessary steps to develop a full and fair record that

contains all relevant facts;

7)         administer an oath or an affirmation to all witnesses;

8)         quash or modify subpoenas for goo

contested points of law, in order to expedite the actual hearing;

5)         have the authority to recommend changes in the child abuse and

neglect report in the State Central Register;

6)         take necessary steps to develop a full and fair record that

contains all relevant facts;

7)         administer an oath or an affirmation to all witnesses;

8)         quash or modify subpoenas for good cause, including but not

limited to relevance, scope, materiality and emotional harm or trauma to the

subpoenaed witness;

9)         allow into evidence all inculpatory and exculpatory evidence

helpful in determining whether an indicated perpetrator abused or neglected a

child, including oral and written reports and the investigative file, that the ALJ

and the Director may rely upon to the extent of its probative value;

10)        allow into evidence previous statements made by the child

relating to abuse or neglect as hearsay exceptions;

11)        preserve all documents and evidence for the record;

12)        rule upon evidentiary issues and contested issues of law at

the hearing or take matters under advisement pending issuance of the written

opinion and recommendation;

13)        order the removal of any person from the hearing room who is

creating a disturbance, whether by physical actions, profanity or conduct, that

disrupts the hearing;

14)        identify the issues, consider all relevant facts and receive

or request any additional information necessary to decide the matter in

dispute, including but not limited to additional testimony, documents,

exhibits, briefs, memoranda of law or post hearing briefs;

15)        present a written opinion and recommendation to the Director

after the record of the administrative hearing is completed or transcript is

received, whichever is later. The written opinion and recommendation shall

include a recommended decision on whether there is a preponderance of evidence

of abuse or neglect based on information in the administrative record

or post hearing briefs;

15)        present a written opinion and recommendation to the Director

after the record of the administrative hearing is completed or transcript is

received, whichever is later. The written opinion and recommendation shall

include a recommended decision on whether there is a preponderance of evidence

of abuse or neglect based on information in the administrative record.  The

opinion shall contain findings of fact, summary of testimony and evidence, conclusions

of law and a recommendation; and

16)        the

written opinion and recommendation must also include the basis for excluding

any evidence or disallowing a physician or other professional from testifying

by telephone pursuant to Section 336.170 (Testimony by Telephone).

c)         The Chief ALJ shall also:

1)         ensure that the administrative hearing is scheduled at a time

and place reasonably convenient for all parties;

2)         provide a written notice to the parties within 10 days after

the receipt of a sufficient request for an administrative hearing, that shall

contain the following information:

A)        the date and time of the pre-hearing conference;

B)        the reasons that may be deemed an abandonment of the request

for a hearing, thus constituting a waiver of the right to a hearing;

C)        a citation to the ANCRA provision that grants the Department of

Children and Family Services the legal authority and jurisdiction to hold this

hearing;

D)        a reference to the particular Sections of the statutes and

administrative rules involved;

E)        the allegations that were indicated;

F)         the consequences of the appellant's failure to participate at

the pre-hearing conference;

G)        the docket number assigned to this case;

H)        the name and contact information of the Administrative Law

Judge and all parties; and

I)         a statement of the parties' rights during the administrative

hearing.