Gov. Pritzker Signs the Child Welfare Liability Insurance Survey Act!

Gov. Pritzker Signs Bill to Survey Insurance Companies on Child Welfare Liability Practices, Costs, and Coverage

SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Collaboration on Youth (ICOY) applauds Governor Pritzker’s signing of the Child Welfare Liability Insurance Survey Act (Public Act 104-0445). Chief Co-Sponsors Rep. Suzanne Ness, Sen. Laura Fine, and Sen Lakesia Collins led a bipartisan effort in the General Assembly to pass the Child Welfare Liability Insurance Act this fall.

“The Child Welfare Liability Insurance Survey Act is a critical and necessary step to protect the essential infrastructure of nonprofit providers while prioritizing the safety, care, and well-being of vulnerable children across Illinois,” said Matt Obert, President and CEO of Chaddock.

Over the past several years, insurance premiums for liability coverage have risen dramatically, and some insurers have even withdrawn completely from the market, declining to offer liability coverage for foster care and adoption services. “This is the first step in resolving a crisis that threatens the future of community-based agencies like LCFS of IL serving families in the foster care system,” said Mike Bertrand, President and CEO of Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois.

PA 104-0445 addresses the liability insurance crisis and directs the Illinois Department of Insurance (DOI) to conduct a comprehensive survey of liability insurance practices for community-based organizations that provide foster care and adoption services. The DOI will develop a finalized survey of responses on April 1^st, 2026 and will share its survey findings shortly after.

“HB762 is an important step toward stabilizing Illinois’ child welfare system. By finally collecting real data on liability insurance costs, the state can better understand the pressures providers face and take meaningful action to ensure agencies can focus their resources where they belong—on children and families” said Carina Santa Maria, Chief Executive officer of Shelters, Inc.

ICOY would like to thank Gov. Pritzker, our Chief Co-Sponsors, the General Assembly, and ICOY members for supporting the passage and enactment of the Child Welfare Liability Insurance Survey Act.

“We need solutions that ensure children who have experienced harm have access to justice while still preserving the community-based infrastructure that services children and families,” said Andrea Durbin, Chief Executive Officer of the Illinois Collaboration on Youth. “This survey will help us better understand the problem so that we can take steps to fix it.”

For questions about the Child Welfare Liability Insurance Survey Act or any other ICOY legislative initiative, please contact ICOY CEO Andrea Durbin at adurbin@icoyouth.org.

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ICOY champions the safety, well-being, and success of all Illinois’ children, youth, and families by connecting and strengthening the organizations that serve them and by being a collective voice for policy and practice.