The Department shall establish a minimum of 3 citizen review panels for the purpose of evaluating the extent to which public and private agencies are effectively discharging their child protection responsibilities as required by the State plan submitted under guidelines of the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.
Each citizen review panel shall be composed of volunteer members who are broadly representative of State and community leaders, including members who have expertise in the prevention and treatment of child abuse and neglect. Existing advisory groups that have been established under State or federal law by the Department may be designated as citizen review panels if they have the capacity to perform the required functions.
20 ILCS 505/17a-13