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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The Illinois Department of Children and Family | ||||||
3 | Services (DCFS) was established on January 1, 1964 as the | ||||||
4 | nation's first cabinet-level state child welfare agency; until | ||||||
5 | that time, the State's child welfare responsibilities were | ||||||
6 | housed in the Department of Mental Health; approximately 4,000 | ||||||
7 | children were served during the department's first year of | ||||||
8 | operation, compared to a peak of 51,000 children in foster | ||||||
9 | care in 1997 and the 15,000 children it serves today; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Illinois is home to the nation's first juvenile | ||||||
11 | court, counts itself as the birthplace of social work, was | ||||||
12 | among one of the first states to establish child protection | ||||||
13 | laws, was an early signatory to laws mandating the reporting | ||||||
14 | of child abuse and neglect, and created one of the nation's | ||||||
15 | first statewide child abuse hotlines; and
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16 | WHEREAS, The mission of Illinois' DCFS is to protect | ||||||
17 | children who are reported to be abused or neglected and to | ||||||
18 | increase their families' capacity to safely care for them; and
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19 | WHEREAS, On February 11, 2019, police found two year old | ||||||
20 | Ta'Naja Barnes unresponsive and wrapped in a urine-soaked | ||||||
21 | blanket inside her home; medical staff said her core | ||||||
22 | temperature was so low that it would not register on their |
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1 | device; she later died at a Decatur hospital; an autopsy | ||||||
2 | revealed she died from dehydration, malnourishment, and | ||||||
3 | neglect despite the involvement of DCFS during her short life; | ||||||
4 | and
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5 | WHEREAS, On April 24, 2019, authorities found Andrew "AJ" | ||||||
6 | Freund wrapped in plastic in a shallow grave near Woodstock; | ||||||
7 | DCFS had received at least 10 prior hotline calls concerning | ||||||
8 | the care of children by his parents dated before he was even | ||||||
9 | born; in addition to the hotline calls, five years' worth of | ||||||
10 | police reports exist that paint a picture of unsanitary and | ||||||
11 | unsafe conditions that include animal feces, lack of | ||||||
12 | electricity, and alleged drug use; an autopsy concluded that | ||||||
13 | the he died from injuries to his skull and brain due to | ||||||
14 | multiple blunt-force injuries; and
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15 | WHEREAS, On March 29, 2022, yet another child, eight year | ||||||
16 | old Navin Jones, died despite extensive involvement by DCFS in | ||||||
17 | his life; while the child's grandmother was his legal | ||||||
18 | guardian, both his older brother and he were residing with | ||||||
19 | their parents throughout February and March; records show that | ||||||
20 | DCFS was facilitating a transfer of guardianship for him in | ||||||
21 | the weeks before he was found unresponsive; the Peoria County | ||||||
22 | Coroner ruled the death a homicide, and police reports said | ||||||
23 | the child was extremely malnourished with a skeletal | ||||||
24 | appearance; further, authorities said he had numerous bruises, |
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1 | scrapes, abrasions, and scars spread across his body; he also | ||||||
2 | had what appeared to be ligature injuries to both wrists; at | ||||||
3 | the time of his death, he weighed just 38 pounds at eight years | ||||||
4 | of age; and
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5 | WHEREAS, The previously detailed deaths span several years | ||||||
6 | but are eerily similar in detail and have one common | ||||||
7 | denominator, which is the involvement and failure of DCFS; and
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8 | WHEREAS, DCFS is responsible for the safety of our State's | ||||||
9 | most vulnerable; additionally, the agency is responsible for | ||||||
10 | the well-being of children in care and is tasked with | ||||||
11 | providing appropriate and permanent placement for children who | ||||||
12 | cannot safely return home; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Over the last year, more than 350 children in | ||||||
14 | DCFS care were languishing in psychiatric hospitals for an | ||||||
15 | average of 55 days because DCFS failed to identify appropriate | ||||||
16 | placement options; and
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17 | WHEREAS, DCFS Director Marc Smith has been held in | ||||||
18 | contempt for failure to properly place DCFS youth eight times | ||||||
19 | in eleven weeks in 2022 alone; and
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20 | WHEREAS, Youths in psychiatric facilities can go outside | ||||||
21 | for approximately one hour per day, do not receive schooling, |
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1 | and have limited contact with family and friends; and
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2 | WHEREAS, Holding the director of a State agency in | ||||||
3 | contempt of court is extraordinarily rare; and
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4 | WHEREAS, The court has levied a $1,000 fine per day for | ||||||
5 | each case where Director Smith has been found in contempt; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Psychiatric hospitals and emergency shelters are | ||||||
7 | much more expensive than other placements and are not eligible | ||||||
8 | for federal reimbursement; therefore, be it
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9 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
10 | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
11 | the Auditor General is directed to conduct a performance audit | ||||||
12 | of the Department of Children and Family Services' response to | ||||||
13 | the tragic deaths of any and all children who have died as a | ||||||
14 | result of the agency's failure to live up to its own mission | ||||||
15 | statement as well as the Department's actions to identify | ||||||
16 | appropriate placement options and avoid further contempt | ||||||
17 | citations; and be it further
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18 | RESOLVED, That this performance audit include, but not be | ||||||
19 | limited to, the following determinations:
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20 | (1) The nature of changes made by the Department in | ||||||
21 | operating protocols and staff training thereon, intended |
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1 | to prevent further deaths of DCFS-involved youth, better | ||||||
2 | serve the best interests of system-involved youth, and | ||||||
3 | prevent any unnecessary stays in psychiatric facilities | ||||||
4 | and temporary shelters;
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5 | (2) The nature and extent of monitoring conducted by | ||||||
6 | the Department to determine whether the improvements, | ||||||
7 | safeguards, and protocols in place are effective to ensure | ||||||
8 | the safety of children in care;
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9 | (3) The amount of State moneys received and the amount | ||||||
10 | of State moneys expended by DCFS or any other State agency | ||||||
11 | during State fiscal years 2020 and 2021 to address | ||||||
12 | preventable deaths and unwarranted stays in psychiatric | ||||||
13 | facilities and temporary shelters;
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14 | (4) The efforts of DCFS to come into compliance with | ||||||
15 | court orders holding Director Marc Smith in contempt and | ||||||
16 | why DCFS continues to repeatedly be held in contempt on | ||||||
17 | additional cases and fails to properly place these youths; | ||||||
18 | and
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19 | (5) The amount of funds spent defending lawsuits and | ||||||
20 | legal matters and coming into court-mandated compliance | ||||||
21 | over issues with failing to properly place DCFS youths; | ||||||
22 | and be it further
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23 | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Children and | ||||||
24 | Family Services and any other State agency or other entity or | ||||||
25 | person that may have information relevant to this audit |
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1 | cooperate fully and promptly with the Auditor General's | ||||||
2 | Office; and be it further
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3 | RESOLVED, That the Auditor General is best equipped to | ||||||
4 | conduct an investigation given their understanding of the | ||||||
5 | policies and procedures associated with the Department of | ||||||
6 | Children and Family Services; and be it further
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7 | RESOLVED, That the Auditor General commence this audit as | ||||||
8 | soon as practical and report its findings and recommendations | ||||||
9 | upon completion in accordance with the provisions of Section | ||||||
10 | 3-14 of the Illinois State Auditing Act; and be it further
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11 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
12 | delivered to the Auditor General.
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