Chicago City Wire

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services has taken heat from state leaders upset with its management.

“Each contempt charge racked up by Director Marc Smith represents a real child that has been failed by DCFS,” Representative Brad Stephens said on Facebook. “The dysfunction has to end, DCFS needs to be overhauled immediately to protect our state's most vulnerable children.”

The department faced additional heat from an audit because of Public Act 101-0237. It found that DCFS was unable to provide 192 of the 195 required Home Safety Checklists.

On May 19, DCFS Director Smith was held in contempt of court for the 11th time this year, once again for failing to appropriately place a vulnerable child, Capitol News reported. This contempt citation concerns an 11-year-old girl who had been under the care of DCFS since she was 5.

Over the last 6 years, the girl had been moved around between an abusive foster home, emergency foster homes, psychiatric hospitals, and shelters. In April, the girl expressed suicidal ideation and intent. She was taken to a hospital and put in the emergency room.

After she had been in the emergency room for two days, a court ordered that the girl be moved to a psychiatric hospital or a secure residential facility. Instead, the girl was kept in the emergency room for two more days, where she continued to make suicidal statements, attempted to escape, became physically aggressive, and was given 5 different medications to subdue her.

“DCFS had previously identified that its outdated data tracking systems limited its ability to track new requirements,” DCFS spokesman Bill McCaffrey said in the Chicago Tribune. “As a result, DCFS was already undertaking significant steps to address these issues, including a complete replacement of the department’s child welfare information systems.”

Smith’s 10th contempt citation, which was issued earlier this month, concerned a young girl who had been shifted from shelters to psychiatric hospitals, rather than being appropriately placed, CBS News reported. The girl, who suffered sexual abuse at a young age, has been struggling as a result of DCFS’ failure to find a placement for her, according to statements made in court.

The DCFS opened its doors on Jan. 1, 1964.

Smith’s 9th contempt citation concerned a 15-year-old boy whom the agency failed to place, instead holding him in a psychiatric facility for months longer than was deemed medically necessary, CBS News reported. Because the contempt citations are civil, rather than criminal, it is unlikely Smith will face jail time. Instead, the agency could be fined, but those fines would be paid with taxpayer dollars.

“Since taking office, the governor increased DCFS’ budget by over $340 million, launched aggressive hiring efforts to bring on 860 additional staff, and overhauled the inadequate training system inherited from the previous administration,” Gov. Pritzker spokesman Alex Gough said in a statement to the Chicago Tribune.

After Smith’s 8th contempt citation, CBS News asked Gov. Pritzker how many more times Smith will be issued contempt citations before action is taken.

The governor replied, “You’re ignoring all of the progress that’s been made at DCFS, and so is the decision to hold the department in contempt. The head of the Department of Children and Family Services, and I, and the judge are frustrated with the challenges that we face for our most vulnerable children."

DCFS’s about page wrote it's the nation’s first cabinet-level state child welfare agency.

Gov. Pritzker appointed Smith to the position of acting director of the DCFS in April 2019. The Illinois Senate confirmed Smith as director in June 2021.