750 ILCS 5/607.6 Amended

Recently, Section 607.6 of the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act was amended by House Bill 2741. Section 607.6 addresses court-ordered therapy, and specifically, subparagraph d of the Section concerns the confidentiality of information about court-ordered therapy. 

In its original form, Section 607.6(d) was read to mean that all information derived from court ordered therapy was confidential and therefore barred from being used in any court proceedings. This posed an issue when a Guardian ad Litem or Child Representative was granted the proper releases to speak to a therapist the information was still barred from being presented in court. 

Section 607.6(d) now reads:

Counseling ordered under this Section is subject to the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act and the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. 

The amended version of 607.6(d) removes unintended barrier and allows for the Guardian ad Litem or Child Representatives to be able to utilize the information received when they have received a release from the parties involved. This amendment is highly beneficial, as it allows access to information that is often necessary for attorneys to effectively advocate for families by providing the judge with the most comprehensive view of the case possible.

NOTICE: This blog is intended solely for informational purposes and should not be construed as providing legal advice. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have regarding this blog post.