Pass 32 | Delaware, Hawaii and Illinois Audit

All 50 state notices remain on publication hold.
This is independent public-interest research, not legal advice, an official agency form, attorney-reviewed material or certified legal guidance. A notice does not initiate an appeal, pause a deadline, prevent an investigation or override court authority. Follow the actual agency or court notice, verify the current rule and case posture, and preserve proof of receipt and filing.

Delaware — 30 days from mailing; Family Court hearing before registry entry

Notice of intent and request for hearing

Delaware maintains a Child Protection Registry with designated Child Protection Levels. A DFS investigative determination that it intends to substantiate an adult and enter the adult on the Registry triggers a certified-mail Notice of Intent to Substantiate. The notice must describe the incident, identify the proposed level and consequences, and include a form to request a Family Court hearing.
Under 16 Del. C. §924(a)(2), the person must respond to DFS in writing requesting a Family Court hearing within 30 days of the date the notice was mailed. This is not a 30-day-from-receipt rule. If the person does not timely request a hearing, §924(b) directs entry on the Registry at the designated level when the 30-day period expires.
When a person timely requests a hearing, DFS generally must file a Petition for Substantiation in Family Court within 45 days after receiving the written request, unless the statutory automatic-stay provisions apply. The petition is filed in the county where the alleged incident occurred.
Under §925A, the Family Court determines by a preponderance of the evidence whether the person committed the alleged act of abuse or neglect based on the same incident identified in the notice. The Court also determines future-risk level. If the Court finds the act was not committed, the person may not be entered on the Registry for that incident and DFS must mark the incident unsubstantiated in its internal system.
A court may, on motion or on its own, order temporary Registry placement pending a final order. A substantiation order is not stayed pending appeal. The separate appellate route for a Family Court Commissioner's order includes a Request for Review of Commissioner's Order within 30 days, according to the Delaware Family Court Registry FAQ; that is not the same as the initial 30-day response to the DFS notice.
For a person entered because of an enumerated criminal conviction, §924(a)(4) provides a different, limited-purpose Family Court petition within 30 days of the Notice of Substantiation. That hearing is limited to whether the conviction qualifies under §922(1); it is not a full re-litigation of the underlying abuse allegation.
Registry removal is a separate later process. The Delaware DFS FAQ (revision October 2025) explains that Registry levels have different consequences; Level IV adult entries are permanent, while other levels have level-specific removal rules. Removal from the Registry does not necessarily erase the underlying DFS internal record.

Important distinction

Delaware's ordinary process is not accurately described as an internal agency appeal. It is a written request to DFS that triggers a Family Court substantiation proceeding. The 30-day clock runs from mailing of the Notice of Intent, and the Department's 45-day court-filing clock runs from receipt of the person's written request. Keep proof of both.

Delaware Code — Title 16, Chapter 9, Subchapter II (§§921–925A) · Delaware Family Court — Child Protection Registry FAQ (Rev. 10/2025) · DFS — Registry substantiation timeline flowchart

Hawaii — 90 calendar days from notice; Department bears burden

Confirmed finding and administrative hearing

Hawaii uses a confirmed / not confirmed disposition for child-welfare assessments. A confirmed finding means the Department determined there was reasonable cause to believe harm or threatened harm occurred; the central-registry statute requires confirmation by a preponderance of the evidence that the person was the perpetrator. A confirmed finding and a Family Court adjudication are distinct legal determinations.
HRS §350-2.5, enacted by Act 147 (2024) and effective July 1, 2025, provides that the Department maintains a central registry and includes the person's name when it confirms by a preponderance of the evidence that the person perpetrated abuse or neglect, harm or threatened harm. A not-confirmed finding, including one reached after Chapter 91 administrative proceedings, requires prompt expungement of the person's name from the Registry.
HAR §17-1610-12(b) recognizes a perpetrator's or maltreater's right to a hearing under Chapter 17-1602 and Department procedures when dissatisfied with the assessment disposition or action taken because of a report. The current Chapter 17-1602 rules became effective December 5, 2025.
HAR §17-1602-6(a) generally requires a hearing request to be received by the Department within 90 calendar days of the date of the notice informing the claimant of the Child Welfare Services Branch adverse action, unless another law or rule provides otherwise. If day 90 falls on a weekend or holiday, the following working day applies. The request must identify the specific adverse action.
The rules provide an informal-review option, but an informal-review request does not toll or suspend the deadline for requesting a hearing. Do not let an informal discussion or review consume the 90-day filing period.
For a hearing contesting the Department's confirmation that a person was the perpetrator, the Department bears the burden of proof; the standard is preponderance of the evidence. The claimant may inspect relevant records, present evidence and argument, question or refute testimony, cross-examine witnesses and request subpoenas under the hearing rules.
The hearing office must acknowledge the request within 15 calendar days and inform the claimant of the right to prompt administrative action and a hearing decision within 120 calendar days of the request, subject to the rule's provisions. If the Department has not issued a final decision within 120 days, the rules address continuation of child-welfare services payments that were reduced or denied; this is not a general promise of automatic reversal of a substantiation.
When a related Chapter 587A Family Court matter is pending or has already been heard and a finding or ruling made, the administrative hearing route is restricted and the person is referred to Family Court. HRS §350-2.5(b)(2) gives Family Court exclusive jurisdiction to determine whether the report was correctly confirmed while the related matter remains pending. An administrative hearing may become available if the court dismisses or closes the matter without making findings on the facts supporting confirmation.
A separate expungement request is available only after the confirmation is more than five years old and where the statutory exclusions are satisfied, including no aggravated circumstances or specified severe conduct and no subsequent abuse/neglect reports. This later discretionary expungement route is not a substitute for a timely initial administrative hearing.

Source/version caution

The 90-day request period comes from the new Chapter 17-1602 rules effective December 5, 2025, not from the older Chapter 17-1610 hearing provision alone. The new rules say “unless otherwise provided by law or rule”; the actual notice and any case-specific Family Court proceedings must be checked before treating the general period as controlling.

Hawaii DHS — Chapter 17-1602, Hearings (effective Dec. 5, 2025) · HAR §§17-1602-6 to -11 — request, review and hearing · Hawaii DHS — Administrative Rules for Programs · Act 147, Session Laws of Hawaii 2024 · DHS explanation of Chapter 17-1602 rule changes

Illinois — 60 days from notice letter; pending court case changes the trigger

Indicated finding and expungement appeal

Illinois uses an indicated finding when DCFS determines there is credible evidence that a child was abused or neglected. The finding is an agency determination and is separate from a juvenile or criminal court proceeding. The State Central Register is confidential but may be checked for specified child-related employment and volunteer screening.
Under 325 ILCS 5/7.16 and 89 Ill. Adm. Code §336.30, the person named as an indicated perpetrator may request an administrative appeal hearing. The written request must be postmarked within 60 days after the date of the official notification letter. DCFS says the 60-day clock runs from the date of notification sent by the Department.
The notice must identify the indicated finding and allegation, state how long the finding will be retained, explain how to appeal and where to send the request, and explain how to request a copy of the investigative file. Department staff must assist a person who requests help preparing a written appeal.
If a juvenile or criminal court action involving the same facts is pending, the appeal is not filed on the ordinary schedule. Section 336.30 and §336.190 provide for the request after the related criminal case concludes or the juvenile case is adjudicated; the appeal request must then be made within 60 calendar days following that conclusion/adjudication. The regulation also identifies a pending same-facts court case or an existing court finding/criminal finding of guilt as grounds for dismissal or a limit on what can be challenged.
The appeal proceeds through a prehearing conference and formal evidentiary hearing before a neutral administrative law judge. The appellant and DCFS may present testimony and evidence. The ALJ makes a recommended finding to the DCFS Director, who issues the final administrative decision. The agency's current public page says the prehearing, evidentiary hearing and final decision must be completed within 90 days after receipt of the appeal request, unless a continuance is requested or agreed to. For a child-care worker, the stated target is 35 days.
Judicial review of the Director's final administrative decision is a separate court process. The deadline and filing requirements for judicial review are not the same as the initial 60-day administrative appeal deadline.
If no appeal is filed, the indicated finding remains on the State Central Register for a period from five to 50 years, depending on the allegation. Do not assume one universal retention period.

Upcoming statutory amendment — not yet effective

Public Act 104-0597 is scheduled to take effect January 1, 2027. The enacted text changes notice provisions, including a requirement (subject to appropriation) for notice by both regular and certified mail and additional notice about the right to request the investigative file. As of this audit date, November 4, 2026, this amendment is not yet effective. Do not apply its future notice requirements to a notice issued before its effective date without checking the applicable transition provisions.

Illinois General Assembly — 325 ILCS 5/7.16 · Illinois Administrative Code — 89 Ill. Adm. Code Part 336 · Illinois DCFS — Hearings and Appeals · DCFS — Appellant's Rights and Responsibilities · 325 ILCS 5/7.12 — PA 104-0597 future notice language

Cross-state findings

Delaware: written request to DFS within 30 days from the date of mailing; Family Court proceeding follows, with a general 45-day Department petition-filing period after receipt of the request.
Hawaii: written hearing request generally must be received within 90 calendar days from the adverse-action notice date. Informal review does not stop the clock. The Department carries the burden of proof in a perpetrator-confirmation hearing.
Illinois: written appeal must be postmarked within 60 days after the official notification-letter date, unless a related juvenile/criminal court case changes the filing trigger; a separate 60-day period follows the specified court conclusion/adjudication.
Registry is not the same as the case record: Delaware's removal from its Registry can leave internal DFS records; Hawaii's statutory expungement permits retention solely for future risk/safety assessment; Illinois retains indicated findings for allegation-specific periods, subject to appeal and applicable law.

Scope and release decision

This pass focused on finding categories, registry consequences, administrative or court appeal routes, deadline triggers, and pending-court exclusions. It did not complete a full audit of investigation start/completion, interviews, home entry, emergency removal, all records-access rights, retention/expungement or every local practice. Delaware's statute and Family Court materials, Hawaii's 2025 rule compilation and Act 147, and Illinois statutes, administrative rules and DCFS appeal guidance were reviewed. Illinois's January 2027 amendment is identified as future law, not current law.

Release decision: HOLD. No state is cleared by this pass. All 50 state notices remain research drafts. No attorney review, legal certification or case-specific legal suitability is claimed. Do not change the PDFs based solely on this targeted research pass.

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