Lake County Gazette

Sen. Craig Wilcox criticized the DCFS for its lack of accountability.

Wilcox said DCFS Director Marc Smith was questioned by the Legislative Audit Commission about repeated deaths and contempt of court citations.

"The audit found a list of upsetting findings including DCFS’s negligence in ensuring that children in its care are receiving their well-child visits and check-ups," Wilcox said. "Of the cases tested, nearly 20 percent of children were missing at least one physical examination. Additionally, the report found that DCFS lacked major control over the Home Safety Checklists and lacked required documentation for families involved in after-service care. Despite these unsettling findings, Director Smith stated in the LAC hearing that his agency is “one of the best child welfare systems in the country. Since the start of this year, Smith has been held in contempt of court 12 times for failing to properly place youth in care. And since December, nine kids on the radar of Illinois DCFS have died. Still, Gov. Pritzker says he has complete confidence in Director Smith and has failed to remove him from the position. The complete lack of accountability at DCFS has gone on for far too long, and our state’s children deserve better. It is well past time that Governor Pritzker makes a leadership change at DCFS."

Lawmakers grilled Smith over the deaths and other issues that have plagued the child welfare department recently, CBS News reported.

 DCFS is responsible for around 20,000 children and operates with an annual budget of $1.5 billion. Nine children who were supposed to be on DCFS's watch have died since December, and Smith has been issued 12 contempt of court citations since the beginning of 2022. Audits have uncovered other problems: of the children who have been victims of abuse or neglect related to substance abuse, 48% did not have their cases sent to state's attorneys for review. Out of all the children in DCFS's care, 88% are missing dental exams, 18% are missing physical exams, 14% have missed vision screenings, and 56% have missed hearing screenings. Smith asserted that Pritzker continues to express confidence in his leadership.

Smith has been issued 12 contempt citations in 2022, CBS News reported. Most of the contempt citations are related to DCFS' failure to properly place children in its care, sometimes for months.

After Smith's 8th contempt citation, CBS News asked Pritzker how many more times Smith will be issued contempt citations before action is taken. 

"You're ignoring all of the progress that's been made at DCFS, and so is the decision to hold the department in contempt," Pritzker said. "The head of Department of Children and family Services, and I, and the judge are frustrated with the challenges that we face for our most vulnerable children."

Pritzker appointed Marc Smith to the position of acting director of the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) in April 2019. The Illinois Senate confirmed Smith as director in June 2021.