Illinois State Representative, Tom Weber, speaks with a reporter about reforms needed with the Department of Children and Family Services. | State Representative Tom Weber/Facebook
Illinois State Representative, Tom Weber, speaks with a reporter about reforms needed with the Department of Children and Family Services. | State Representative Tom Weber/Facebook
Illinois State Representative, Tom Weber (R), is urging his fellow lawmakers to read through a recent Inspector General report that found 171 children in contact with the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) died in 2022.
"The department is in charge of keeping all of our most vulnerable children, not just alive, but safe," Weber said, according to a Telegraph report. "I can only describe it (the report) as disturbing."
The 248-page report also states the deaths mark a 40% increase over the number of deaths in 2021, highlighting that 2022 saw 49 more deaths involving children in contact with the DCFS.
Marc Smith, DCFS director, has received eight contempt of court orders regarding the timely placement of youth, according to the Telegraph.
Weber has also made reforming the department one of his biggest priorities in 2023. Currently, the DCFS receives $1.5 billion in Illinois taxpayer money annually, the Telegraph reported.
"It enrages me that we continue to see not only a lack of progress at DCFS but steps backward," Weber said. "There is a heartbreaking, human cost when this agency is so poorly managed, and the legislature doesn't do anything.”
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