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Illinois Has More Financial Issues
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Illinois Has More Financial Issues
by Amal | on September 4, 2012
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More Problems, More Cuts at Illinois DCFS
Posted Sep 4, 2012 at 01:43 PM
By W het Moser
The new issue of the Chicago Reporter focuses on child abuse, centering around a
heartbreaking piece by Maria Inez Zamudio on the deaths of children whose families have been
investigated by DCFS; while homicide overall has declined in Chicago, Illinois, and across the
country, child abuse homicides have remained steady:
The Reporter analysis shows that nearly 20 percent of the homicides—or 44 cases—occurred
within a year after DCFS investigators dismissed the allegations of abuse or neglect as
“unfounded.” The target of these “unfounded” investigations committed more than 60 percent Go Daddy!
of the 44 homicides.
And the agency was actively involved in about 41 percent of the cases at the time of the
homicide, either still investigating the allegations of abuse or neglect, or keeping the children with
their family member under various modes of supervision. Another 35 percent of the victims
were current wards of the state or their children.
As Zamudio points out, DCFS has long been problematic. The numbers she obtained are eerily
similar to ones found by the Tribune back in 1986, when the paper conducted a lengthy
investigation into the department:
The statewide death toll from child abuse and neglect last year hit its highest level since 1981,
and in about one-fourth of the families where a child died, the Illinois Department of Children and
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2. Family Services had previously investigated a report of abuse or neglect.
State officials report that 82 children died from abuse or neglect in the year ending June 30, a Posts
49 percent increase from the previous year.
In 21 of the families where a death was reported, DCFS, the state agency charged with Tips in Increasing Motivation
protecting children, had investigated charges of abuse or neglect and decided that children
could safely live in the home.
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In 1986, DCFS employed 2,636 people; in 2012, it’s 2,900, but planned cuts would bring
headcountbelow 1986 levels: The Long Wait Is Over, Let The Games
The Armstrong case and others documented by the newspaper have raised questions about Begin! Baseball Is Finally Here, YES!
whether reforms from the 1990s are at risk in the wake of repeated state budget cuts, staff
shortages and high caseloads. Improving The Community With
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Appointed six months ago, DCFS Director Richard Calica has been working on an agency
reorganization to augment the depleted investigative staff and reduce unnecessary layers of
management. The agency suffered another blow when the state Legislature recently passed a Benefits of Having a Personal Budget
proposed budget that seeks to reduces DCFS’ staff of 2,900 by 375 workers.
Reducing management has not been one of the agency’s strong points in recent years:
In examining staffing, spending and funding at the Department of Children and Family Services Get Started Now!
from 2006 to 2011, the Tribune found that the agency cut its investigators and caseworkers at
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a higher rate than administrative positions, such as accountants and human resources workers.
As the agency cut abuse and neglect investigators by about 12 percent and caseworker
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positions by 16 percent, administrative jobs were trimmed only 7 percent. DCFS increased the
number of supervisors for front-line employees, even as it was slashing their direct reports.
The newspaper reported that DCFS investigators often have caseloads double what they should
be, and that the agency is in violation of critical terms of a 1991 federal consent decree that sets
monthly limits on new cases for investigators.
The Trib reporters, Alex Richards and Bill Ruthhart, found that the number of supervisors in that
period actually increased as the number of frontline workers fell.
After 20 years, the state is still not in compliance with the consent decree, but the federal
government hasn’t been much help. In 2002, the feds provided $14.5 million to DCFS on a
budget of about $1.3 billion. By 2012, that had been cut in half to $7 million, not adjusted for
inflation; DCFS’s total budget dropped to $1.2 billion—again, not adjusted for inflation. Adjusted
for inflation, it’s about a 27 percent budget cut over the past decade, and that will go deeper
this year.
There’s really very little that I can say about this lack of intelligence when it comes to our
children, it’s actually very depressing.
This entry was posted in Empower Network
Tags: children, DCFS, Illinois, wards of the state
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About The Author: Amal
A former latchkey kid leading to being INDEPENDENT, self-reliant, DEDICATED
follow er in my belief, FATHER of 3 men, HUSBAND, somew hat EDUCATED, filled
w ith HOPE, GRATEFUL for life, HUNGRY for SUCCESS, alw ays w illing to give a
helping hand, community facilitator, school board member, experienced in various
industries, ENTREPRENEUR and a MAN STILL ON THE GRIND.
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