The roll call continues – of dead or missing children. And State Rep Tom Weber (R-Lake Villa) says it’s evidence the performance of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is unacceptable.
“Since I last stood before you,” Weber told reporters at the Capitol Thursday, “two more babies have suffered high-profile DCFS tragedies. Sophia Faye Davis and Zaraz Walker. DCFS was aware of allegations that put both children in danger, but, once again, did nothing.”
Also unacceptable, says Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst), is the track record of DCFS director Marc Smith: “If six contempt of court orders is not enough of a wake-up call for Gov. (JB) Pritzker that his approach isn’t working, what will be? I am an attorney. I want to be clear,” Mazzochi said with a knowing chuckle. “Courts do not issue contempt of court orders lightly.”
An overarching criticism is that the structure of the agency is top-down; it could be, these lawmakers say, localized. And, they argue, supermajority Democrats will not give them a hearing.
Response from Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh:
“It should come as no surprise that members of the GOP are once again using our state’s most vulnerable as pawns in their political games. This is the same party that stood behind Bruce Rauner as he decimated social services and recklessly cut 500 beds for youth in care without creating alternative placements. They repeatedly voted against increased funding for DCFS resulting in dangerously low staffing levels. As the administration has repeatedly made clear, these reckless decisions destroyed lives quickly, but it will take years to undo that damage. The solutions to build back that capacity are clear: invest in infrastructure, rebuild trust with providers, and most importantly, attract the skilled staff needed to make a bed something that could actually serve a child. DCFS is aggressively working on all of those solutions and has to overcome a pandemic-driven child welfare staffing crisis.
“The administration inherited a DCFS that had been systemically hollowed out and underfunded. Since taking office, the Governor increased DCFS’ budget by over $340 million with DCFS launching aggressive hiring efforts to bring on 860 additional staff. These investments passed without the support of the Republicans in General Assembly. The administration inherited a DCFS with outdated technology and inadequate trainings. Since then, technology has been overhauled and trainings and retrainings have taken place for every DCFS staff member. The DCFS hotline was backlogged with over 50% of calls requiring call backs in 2019. That’s down to under 1% now.
“The administration appreciates the constructive collaboration it has received from experts, stakeholders, and legislators on these efforts and looks forward to continuing its aggressive work to protect vulnerable children and families across Illinois. If Republicans truly care about children in the state’s care, they should put their votes ahead of their rhetoric and advance policy solutions to improve outcomes. Unfortunately, Republicans have fine-tuned their press conference skills, but have repeatedly voted against the needs of Illinois children.”