HR0085 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0085 LRB103 30940 ECR 57490 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The only justification for the institution of foster care is that the other alternatives are worse; and

WHEREAS, Foster care is a suboptimal, long-term environment even when children have safe, stable, and loving non-relative or kinship foster parents; and

WHEREAS, Knowing where and to whom one belongs is a fundamental need of humans; and

WHEREAS, The process of removing children from their homes complicates children's understanding of belonging and for whom they may feel affection and consequently causes them to experience guilt about such feelings; and

WHEREAS, The ability to cope and adjust to various life circumstances requires some capacity, within reason, to anticipate what is coming; and

WHEREAS, Lack of predictability inhibits a child's ability to plan and therefore exercise real or perceived control over one's environment; and

WHEREAS, The U.S. Department of Human Services reports that 69.3% of the children who have been in the Illinois foster care system for more than 24 months experience three or more placements; and

WHEREAS, A child entering foster care in Cook County is likely to remain in foster care significantly longer than a child entering foster care in any other region of the State; and

WHEREAS, For purposes of providing child welfare services, the State is administratively divided into four regions, Northern, Central, Southern, and Cook; and

WHEREAS, Children from the Cook Region remain in foster care significantly longer than similarly situated children who enter foster care in the other three regions; and

WHEREAS, The Juvenile Court Act of 1987 provides that court has the responsibility of determining whether a child remains in foster care or exits foster care through reunification with family, adoption, or private guardianship; and

WHEREAS, The Juvenile Court Act of 1987, 705 ILCS 405/2-14, provides that an adjudicatory hearing to determine whether a child is abused, neglected, or dependent shall be commenced within 90 days of the date of service of process upon the minor, parents, any guardian, and any legal custodian, unless an earlier date is required; and

WHEREAS, The Juvenile Court Act of 1987, 705 ILCS 405/2-14, also provides that, once commenced, a subsequent delay in the adjudicatory hearing may be allowed by the court when necessary to ensure a fair hearing and only for good cause shown; and

WHEREAS, In FY 2020, the average number of days between the date of the child's entry into foster care and the completion of the adjudicatory hearing was 157.9 days in the Northern region, 150.9 days in the Central region, 137.6 days in the Southern region, and 489.7 days in the Cook region; and

WHEREAS, In FY 2021, the average number of days between the date of the child's entry into foster care and the completion of the adjudicatory hearing was 130.7 days in the Northern region, 126.9 days in the Central region, 115.8 days in the Southern region, and 325.0 days in the Cook region; and

WHEREAS, In FY 2020, the average number of days from the completion of the adjudicatory hearing to the entry of the order terminating parental rights was 777.0 days in the Northern region, 660.9 days in the Central region, 750.0 days in the Southern region, and 961.4 days in the Cook region; and

WHEREAS, In FY 2021, the average number of days from the date of the completion of the adjudicatory hearing to entry of the order terminating prior rights was 729.1 days in the Northern region, 679.3 days in the Central region, 706.1 days in the Southern region, and 1,001.2 days in the Cook region; and

WHEREAS, In FY 2022, the average number of days from the completion of the adjudicatory hearing was 774.8 days in the Northern region, 717.7 in the Central region, 886.8 days in the Southern region, and 1,169.8 days in the Cook region; and

WHEREAS, The Children and Family Resource Center (CFRC) of the University of Illinois School of Social Work has issued several reports demonstrating that a child entering foster care in Cook County is likely to remain in foster care significantly longer than a child entering foster care in any other region of the State; and

WHEREAS, In its FY 2018 monitoring report to the federal court in the B.H. litigation, CFRC found that the median stay in care for those children entering foster care in the Cook region was 46 months in 2014, which was over a year longer than the time in other regions of the State; and

WHEREAS, In its FY 2021 monitoring report to the federal court in the B.H. litigation, CFRC concluded "In Illinois, there are large regional differences in the achievement of timely permanence for children in care. Over 66% of children taken into substitute care in the Cook region can expect to stay there longer than three years. In contrast, other regions of the state keep 36 percent of children in care that long. A continuing effort to achieve timely permanence in the Cook region is needed, so that these dismal numbers can be improved"; and

WHEREAS, In its FY 2021 monitoring report to the federal court in the B.H. litigation, CFRC reported that with respect to those children entering foster care in 2017, 66% of the Cook County children remained in foster care after 36 months while 36% of the children who entered foster care in the rest of the State remained in foster care after 36 months; and

WHEREAS, In its FY 2021 monitoring report to the federal court in the B.H. litigation, CFRC found that with respect to those children who entered foster care in 2017, only 23% of the Cook County children were reunited with their families after 36 months, while the figure for the rest of the State was 38%; and

WHEREAS, In its FY 2021 monitoring report to the federal court in the B.H. litigation, CFRC found that with respect to those children who entered foster care in 2017, after 36 months only 7% of the children in the Cook region exited foster care through adoption, while the figure for the rest of the State was 20%; and

WHEREAS, Those children who enter foster care in the Cook region and are eventually returned to their families or adopted will spend significantly more time in foster care than similarly situated children who enter foster care in other regions of the State; and

WHEREAS, The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) statistics show that in FY 2020 the percentage of children who exited foster care through adoption was 10.5% in the Northern region, 9.7% in the Central region, 9.9% in the Southern region, and 5.4% in the Cook region; and

WHEREAS, DCFS statistics show that in FY 2020, the percentage of children who exited foster care through reunification with their families was 16.0% in the Northern region, 17.9% in the Central region, 15.2% in the Southern region, and 6.8% in the Cook region; and

WHEREAS, DCFS statistics show that in FY 2021, the percentage of children who exited foster care through adoption was 9.4% in the Northern region, 9.2% in the Central region, 11.3% in the Southern region, and 4.9% in the Cook region; and

WHEREAS, DCFS statistics show that in FY 2021, the percentage of children who exited foster care through reunification with their families was 22.8% in the Northern region, 20.1% in the Central region, 17.8% in the Southern region, and 6.0% in the Cook region; and

WHEREAS, DCFS statistics show that in FY 2022, the percentage of children who exited foster care through adoption was 9.0% in this Northern region, 9.7% in the Central region, 10.7% in the Southern region, and 4.2% in the Cook region; and

WHEREAS, DCFS statistics show that in FY 2022, the percentage of children who exited foster care through reunification with their families was 22.9% in the Northern region, 20.0% in the Central region, 16.1% in the Southern region, and 7.5% in the Cook region; and

WHEREAS, Additional statistics show that 71.2% of Illinois children in foster care in the Cook region are Black, and a total of 31.7% of the children in the other regions of the State are Black; and

WHEREAS, Regardless of race, children who enter foster care in the Cook region spend significantly more time in foster care than similarly situated children who enter foster care in other regions of the State; and

WHEREAS, In FY 2021, the median duration of care for Black children was 22.52 months in the Northern region, 21.11 months in the Central region, 26.98 months in the Southern region, and 42.72 months in the Cook region; and

WHEREAS, In 2021, the median duration of care for white children in foster care was 16.66 months in the Northern region, 20.79 months in the Central region, 24.30 months in the Southern region, and 34.30 months in the Cook region; and

WHEREAS, In 2021, the median duration of care for Latinx children was 16.72 months in the Northern region, 19.80 in the Central region, 25.80 months in the Southern region, and 35.21 months in the Cook region; and

WHEREAS, In FY 2022, the median duration of care for Black children was 26.36 months in the Northern region, 22.65 months in the Central region, 31.28 months in the Southern region, and 40.80 months in the Cook region; and

WHEREAS, In FY 2022, the median duration of care for white children was 19.77 months in the Northern region, 25.62 months in the Central region, 25.16 in the Southern region, and 35.8 months in the Cook region; and

WHEREAS, In FY 2022, the median duration of care the Latinx children was 17.54 months in the Northern region, 20.3 months in the Central region, 22.07 months in the Southern region, and 35.48 months in the Cook region; and

WHEREAS, The disparate treatment of children in the Cook region is exemplified by DCFS data relating to children who entered foster care between April of 2019 and June 30, 2019; and

WHEREAS, DCFS statistics relating to those children who entered foster care between April of 2019 through June 30, 2019 show that statewide, 51.5% exited foster care within three years, with 8.7% leaving through adoption, 2.1% through guardianship, 39.6% through reunification, and 1.2% through relatives; and

WHEREAS, DCFS statistics relating to children who entered foster care in the Northern region between April of 2019 and June 30, 2019 show that 55.9% exited foster care within three years, with 7.3% exiting through adoption, 2.3% through guardianship, 44.9% through reunification, and 1.4% through relatives; and

WHEREAS, DCFS statistics relating to children who entered foster care in the Central region between April of 2019 and June 30, 2019 show that 57.1% exited foster care within three years, with 10.3% exiting through adoption, 1.8% through guardianship, 44.5% through reunification, and 0.5% through relatives; and

WHEREAS, DCFS statistics relating to children who entered foster care in the Southern region between April of 2019 and June 30, 2019 show that 52.6% exited foster care within three years, with 11.5% exiting through adoption, 3.2% through guardianship, 36.4% through reunification, and 1.5% through relatives; and

WHEREAS, Statistics relating to children who entered foster care in the Cook region between April of 2019 and June 30, 2019 show that 31.6% exited foster care within three years, with 2.7% exiting through adoption, 1.0% through guardianship, 25.9% through reunification, and 2.0% through relatives; and

WHEREAS, The disparate treatment of foster children in the Cook region is also exemplified by DCFS data relating to children who entered foster care between April of 2021 and June 30, 2021; and

WHEREAS, DCFS statistics relating to those children who entered foster care between April of 2021 through June 30, 2021 show that the percentage who exited foster care within one year was 21.9% in the Northern region, 16% in the Central region, 18.4% in the Southern region, and 7.5% in the Cook region; and

WHEREAS, DCFS statistics show that as of January 9, 2023, the average length of stay in foster care was 31.4 months statewide, 28.0 months in the Northern region, 26.3 months in the Central region, 26.6 months in the Southern region, and 42.6 months in the Cook region; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Supreme Court of Illinois and the Circuit Court of Cook County to examine the reasons for the disparate length of foster care experienced by children in the Cook region; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the Supreme Court of Illinois and the Circuit Court of Cook County to recommend legislation to reduce this disparity and shorten the duration of foster care experienced by children in the Cook region.