HR0038 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0038 LRB103 28867 ECR 55252 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Department of Children and Family Services (the Department) (DCFS) is the sole agency responsible for receiving and investigating reports of child abuse or neglect made under the Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act; and

WHEREAS, As of the end of fiscal year 2022, the Department had conducted 97,400 investigations serving 22,911 youth; and

WHEREAS, In fiscal year 2022, 171 children died after involvement with the Department, a 40% increase over the previous year; while this does not imply causation on the part of the Department, it does imply that the Department's efforts to prevent the death of children are not sufficient; and

WHEREAS, The projected budget of the Department for fiscal year 2023 is $1.8 billion; and

WHEREAS, Since the establishment of the Office of Inspector General (OIG) in 1993, the annual reports issued by the Inspector General have catalogued a consistent pattern of Departmental failures that unfortunately have contributed, through lack of action and negligence, to the deaths of hundreds of children in DCFS care over that period of time; and

WHEREAS, In her 1995 report, the OIG observed that "the prevalent over-emphasis on Department rules and procedures perpetuates the Department's isolation and fosters the belief that only Department employees are responsible for the well-being of children in Illinois. A more useful analysis considers whether practices should be changed so that Department employees, working with individuals from other disciplines, would be able to pinpoint situations in which death is a possibility or likelihood. By identifying the characteristics that have led to a death in the past and by utilizing the experiences of a variety of professionals, department employees will be in a better position to prevent future deaths."; and

WHEREAS, In her 2022 Annual Report, the Department's Office of the Inspector General identified a systemic pattern of negligence in mandated child protection investigations in which there were significant delays in making initial contact with alleged child victims of abuse or neglect; in these cases, the Department failed to fulfill an essential responsibility in protecting children; and

WHEREAS, The Inspector General noted that several investigations conducted this year highlight the critical need for communication and collaboration among multiple entities; and

WHEREAS, From the above, it is apparent that shortcomings that were noted 27 years ago are still present in the Department; the result of this is the unfortunate litany of the deaths of children who are in the care of and are the responsibility of the Department; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that it is our position that the time is long past for systemic changes to be made to the Department of Children and Family Services so that it can fulfill its mission to protect children and prevent the ongoing tragedy of child abuse and neglect that confronts us every year; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we call upon the Governor and the executive branch as well as the Department of Children and Family Services to cooperate in every way that they can to assure that these changes will be made.