Lake County Gazette

Several Republican leaders are banding together to push for the removal of Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith for the department’s mishandling of cases.

“It is evident that we need more transparency from DCFS,” Rep. Chris Bos (R-Lake Zurich) said in a video posted on his website. “The audit released is even more proof that improvements must be made. Unfortunately, it took an audit to find out more failures at DCFS because the leadership will not share this information.”

According to KPVI, the Illinois Auditor General’s review of DCFS found many failures, such as failing to provide safety checks before children are returned to their families.

“For the safety and well-being of the youth in care, we cannot wait another year to see if this audit leads to any tangible change,” Bos said. “We need more transparency from their leadership and we need to receive at minimum, quarterly updates. The excuses need to stop from this administration.”

A law was named in honor of two-year-old Ta’Naja Barnes after her death in 2019 that required DCFS to complete home safety checks, but according to The Telegraph, the audit found that even though this is now required, it’s not happening.

“We need a DCFS director who is very open and will be transparent with the courts and legislature and most importantly the families that are impacted,” Bos said. “To make the needed changes, we must first know where the problems are. We see the symptoms of the problem through this audit.”

The audit was released on May 12.

“If director Smith won't be transparent to the courts, to families, or the legislature, then who is he being transparent and accountable to?” Bos said. “Every day that Smith remains as director of DCFS, further delays any solution to help improve the safety and care of Illinois children.”