McHenry Times

Illinois children have reportedly been sleeping on couches or floors of state DCFS offices, with Cook County public guardian Charles Golbert telling a federal judge there have been 516 nights children spent there with an average of three nights per child.

According to a report by WGN, Golbert said this is four times the amount reported in 2020. Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he would fix this issue after legislators held hearings, but the problem seems to be getting worse.

“This continues to happen to hundreds of children every year and, of course, is in violation of multiple provisions or the consent decree in this case,” Golbert wrote to the judge who monitors DCFS, according to WGN.

Golbert reportedly told the judge that DCFS does not provide proper medical care and follow-up cases. DCFS spokesperson. State Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington) took to social media to address the issue, and call out DCFS for the problem.

“The health and well-being of the children in state care should be a top priority, but we continue to hear excuses instead of finding solutions to the serious problems at DCFS,” McLaughlin wrote in a Facebook post that included the WGN article.

Much of the reason for the children being put in the offices is because they are being taken from their homes due to violent situations in the family or health and safety issues. Pritzker had previously blamed Gov. Bruce Rauner’s administration for the shortage of beds and budget cuts for DCFS. In 2019 Illinois had access to 43 emergency beds, which was down from 159 beds five years prior, according to the WGN report.

WGN reported on this scenario in 2021, leading to lawmakers holding a hearing. Rep. Kathleen Willis (D-Northlake) said that the WGN reporting was the “whole reason” they were having the hearing.

Heather Tarczan, the spokesperson for DCFS, provided a statement as a response to the issue and Golbert’s accusations, defending the organization saying they have made “tremendous strides.”

“Every year DCFS brings thousands of children into care and we make every effort to place these children in safe and healthy settings as quickly as possible,” Tarczan’s statement said. “We have made tremendous strides in adding capital investments to a previously gutted system which will add 121 new beds, increased our contracted foster care capacity, added additional shelters and decreased our welcome centers from five to one. We continue to make improvements every day which directly benefit our children and families.