DCFS director hit with 7th contempt citation
Friday, Mar 18, 2022 - Posted by Rich Miller
* CBS…
A Cook County judge ordered Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Director Marc Smith held in contempt of court for a seventh time Thursday for failing to place a child appropriately.
The order was issued by Juvenile Court Judge and former county Public Guardian Patrick Murphy.
Current Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert noted that this was the seventh time Smith has been held in contempt in the past 10 weeks. In this case, the subject of the order is a 16-year-old boy who has spent more than 375 days – almost the whole time he has been in DCFS custody – in a shelter that does not have the resources to support his needs given his intellectual and cognitive disabilities, the Public Guardian’s office said. […]
While she has been locked in the facility, she has not received services such as speech therapy. She also has not been allowed to go outdoors, and she has barely received an education.
For nearly a year now, the girl has received just one hour a day of schooling.
I just have no words.
* Pritzker administration statement…
The Governor and Director Smith share the judge’s frustration and DCFS is working hard to find placements for these vulnerable children with special needs. Tragically, when Governor Rauner decimated social services, we were warned that it would be much easier to lose the 500 beds he destroyed than to recreate them again. Advocates warned that these services weren’t like a light switch that could be turned on and off with ease.
Since taking office, the Governor increased DCFS’ budget by over $340 million with DCFS launching aggressive hiring efforts to bring on 860 additional staff. The administration inherited a DCFS with outdated technology and inadequate trainings. Since then, technology has been overhauled and trainings and retrainings have taken place for every DCFS staff member. The DCFS hotline was backlogged with over 50% of calls requiring call backs in 2019. That’s down to under 1% now. The agency is working just as hard to create the needed placements for children.
* Cook County Public Guardian…
DCFS’s placement shortage crisis has existed for at least the past seven years, when DCFS abolished 500 residential and group home beds. DCFS has not replaced these beds in all these years. DCFS’s placement shortage crisis has become so extreme that, for the first time in the more than three decades that I’ve been practicing in Juvenile Court, the court created a special consolidated docket where one judge is now hearing all of the cases with kids stuck in locked psychiatric hospitals, “temporary” shelters, offices, and the like. This docket has become known as the “placement crisis docket” and is sometimes also referred to as the “stuck kids call.” Judge Patrick T. Murphy presides over this consolidated call, and entered all six of the contempt orders against Smith. Holding a state agency director in contempt of court is extraordinarily rare. In the more than 30 years that I’ve been practicing in Juvenile Court, I cannot recall a single prior instance where a judge held the DCFS director in contempt. And now it’s happened six times in eight weeks.
That’s how dysfunctional DCFS has become.
* DCFS…
The Department of Children and Family Services is dedicated to keeping children safe and strengthening families. We are working aggressively addressing the decades-long challenge of a lack of community resources and facilities for children with complex behavioral health needs, which has been exacerbated by an increased demand in social services in recent years. Every single day, DCFS works with its network of providers and foster parents in an ongoing effort to place these children in settings that can provide the appropriate level of care and in which the children can grow and flourish.
…Adding… The Richard Irvin campaign throws the kitchen sink at Pritzker…
The common theme of failure across the various agencies under Pritzker’s watch grows stronger as news today of yet another contempt of court order issued for Department of Children and Family Services agency director Marc Smith. This is the seventh contempt citation against Smith and DCFS to date.
Due to the failures of the Pritzker Administration to manage this agency, the courts have been forced to step in to address problems at the agency. Kids who were placed in the state’s care have not received necessary services, including housing, healthcare and more. Just yesterday, it was revealed there was a boy who had been living in a temporary shelter for over a year.
This is yet another massive failure in the Pritzker Administration. Earlier this week, we saw the families of veterans who tragically lost their lives due to the negligence and incompetence at the LaSalle Veterans Home seek justice. Pritzker’s Department of Insurance is also stalling in taking action against Blue Cross Blue Shield for restricting access to healthcare for central Illinoisans. And just last week, we found out that the Department of Employment Security knowingly gave funds to scammers that belonged to families and residents who were struggling during the pandemic.
“This now marks yet another state agency riddled with issues due to Governor Pritzker’s inaction, and the kids in the state’s care are paying the price. This is truly disgraceful,” said Irvin for Illinois spokesperson Eleni Demertzis. “It’s the Governor’s job to own these problems and swiftly correct them, but all we’ve seen is deflection and inaction from the administration. It seems like the only time Governor Pritzker cares about DCFS is when he’s profiting from their insurance plans.”
- Downstate - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 8:55 am:
How does an appointed Director retain his position in the face of 7 contempt citations?
- Almost retired - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 9:06 am:
The State closed an 81 bed Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilty for youth last year. It is time to stop blaming the Rainer administration. This administration has reduced treatment beds for these youth.
- friend of the family - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 9:06 am:
People keep talking about residential and group home beds, but have not read the 2018 Family First act. Residential and group home beds are short term treatment, not placement. Illinois needs adults to step up and provide homes for youth and not give up on them. These youth will come into your home and be difficult, they may never reciprocate the care you provide with even a hug. It will be a long time for these youth to improve, but you have to stay with them. Blaming lack of resources is a focus on half the problem. Blaming Case Workers is half the problem. Illinois needs homes that will care for these youth.
- Candy Dogood - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 9:10 am:
Does the judicial branch have a punch card that Director Smith is trying to full up? 10 contempt charges and you get a free lunch?
- One Trick Pony - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 9:12 am:
“The Governor and Director Smith share the judge’s frustration…”
They are kidding right? We are frustrated too? That’s all you got after 7 contempt citations? Although this defense sounds familiar from the previous administration’s supporters.
- NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 9:13 am:
And John Sullivan was fired by Ag just for one email?
- The Hills 60010 - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 9:16 am:
- Downstate -“ How does an appointed Director retain his position in the face of 7 contempt citations?”
Because the allowance of tribalism to foolishly get in the way, especially in this situation, of providing care and services to the most vulnerable children. The undeserving Mr. Smith is an image holder upheld by some who think that to lose him as a director would be a blow to having an African American lead in a state agency decision making position. The battle between the Illinois Black and Latino caucuses to ensure “their guy/gal” is THE lead is becoming foolishly dangerous.
Fielding a deep bench of ready competents might be something that needs to be worked on.
- Candy Dogood - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 9:20 am:
Let’s not make a false equivalency for an agency that struggles because of structural and decades long neglect and is unable to fill hundreds of positions and someone who was getting emails referring to how a job candidate covered up rapes. Sullivan never explained himself beyond not reading the email begging the question what rapes did he know about which were covered up?
The Governor would have been asked about that by press at every presser he held if he hadn’t promptly sacked Sullivan.
- SuburbanRepublican - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 9:25 am:
The Governor has been in office for 3 years now. The blame Rauner response is getting old.
- Waffle Fries - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 9:27 am:
https://multimedia.illinois.gov/press/press-live.html
Major initiative being announced right now.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 9:42 am:
Governors own.
To that, in context…
DCFS, DHS, DOC, IDOT, DNR…
Agencies that all but act like lightning rods for the bad that can hurt people, the state, and an administration.
It’s a rarity that those agencies have consistently good news.
That has to be put forward first… as governors own is as true as it ever is, bad AND good.
To the post,
This administration has shown through agency deficiencies poor agency leadership in places that allow a harsh light far brighter than on any specific issue *in* that agency.
The administration waited far too long to move from Chapa LaVia, and while it’s a tough job being an agency director here, I still find myself wondering what exactly will be enough for this administration to choose to move on with current leadership.
It’s not just the political of “cutting bait”, it is about an administration that needs to look at directors like one looks at running mate things.
“If you’re not helping, you’re hurting, if you’re hurting, you’re not helping”
A key component to actual campaign attacks in a re-election will be as an administrator of state agencies, and can the administration look at lawsuits with DVA and this legal wrangling here… it’s not helping.
- natty lite - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 9:54 am:
The Governor needs to treat this like the emergency it is: tell his Chief of Staff or a Deputy Governor to physically move their office to DCFS with a pile of blank checks and report to him at 8am and 8pm every day on the progress. Business as usual isn’t working. Of course everyone agrees the Rauner administration was a disaster … that moved from a reason to an excuse a long time ago. He has had almost a full term, and these failures continue to hit the state’s most vulnerable people (DCFS, Veterans, Unemployment Insurance). Where is the sense of urgency? DCFS got one paragraph in the State of the State address 6 weeks ago. If the Governor can’t solve this, nothing else matters. This is sick.
- Bruce( no not him) - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 9:56 am:
I don’t care who’s fault it is. It’s time to step up and do something.
Is it possible to file contempt charges against the General Assembly and the Governor and…
- Responsa - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 10:06 am:
Decent people must look beyond politics and race and see it clear eyed for what it is: years of examples of horrible treatment of children (most of whom already are at grave risk) who were put in the care of a broken and dysfunctional DCFS bureaucracy that no one in power seems willing to take the steps to fix.
- Captain Obvious - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 10:06 am:
Super annoyed with the blame Bruce schtick. JB has had three years to work on this and he has done next to nothing. The time for blame placing is long passed. In the last few months we have seen 7 contempt citations and a murdered caseworker. Time for someone else to take crack at this…
- AlfondoGonz - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 10:29 am:
The judges in juvenile court are increasingly fed up with detained minors whom the court ordered released to DCFS remaining in detention due to lack of placement. They’re becoming reluctant to even order a juvenile released to DCFS because they know in effect it is a jail sentence.
I first got to experience DCFS and their proud incompetence when I interned for the Public Defender Civil Conflicts unit. Nearly a decade later, it seems things have only gotten worse.
- Lincoln Lad - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 10:39 am:
Doubling salaries to get top people hasn’t delivered anyone whose seemingly able to run the State operationally. That should be evident, but still nothing has been done. JB should clean house before he gets any closer to the election.
- Wading in... - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 10:40 am:
There was quite a wave of retirements by experienced staff at the end of last calendar year. These people were the most capable of ‘righting the ship’, but left because Smith and company simply didn’t listen to them. Some vacancies still exist for management staff that retired almost a year ago.
- Back to the Future - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 10:46 am:
Governor “Stuff Happens” strikes again.
Really sorry for those kids that have suffered over the last three years.
Hats off to the Judge who is trying to get help for these children.
- RNUG - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 11:23 am:
/rant warning
I’m going to take the very long overview. This DCFS is NOT the agency my deceased mom worked at for over 45 years, starting when it was just a division of DMH. Back then the agency mostly worked, although it had its’ faults also.
So what changed? Back then and during most of her career, the State actually ran institutions and orphanages for the kids who weren’t placed with relatives or foster parents. It wasn’t perfect, and scandals did occur, but those facilities were under direct control of the State and people could be held directly accountable. That is not the case today.
Because we could debate it forever, we’ll skip over all the theory about what is best for the kids and the failure of social services to properly transition from an institutional objective to a community placement objective, and just observe that, when they aren’t doing foster placement and even sometimes when they are, today DCFS is pretty much just a contracting agency that farms out the kids to private institutions and placements that DCFS has no direct control over. As such, part of the problem is finding institutions (and families) willing to provide service at the rates the State will pay.
The results speak for themselves. Part of what DCFS is doing seems to work, but it is clear that part of it is not working.
I don’t know if more money alone will fix it, but it hasn’t so far. Maybe DCFS and the social scientists need to re-think things and decide if the State, in a limited fashion, needs to get back to providing direct service in an institutionalized setting for a specific subset of the kids that are not being properly served. I doubt it could be any worse than keeping kids locked up with no services, or having kids sleeping in DCFS offices
- NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 11:23 am:
==Super annoyed with the blame Bruce schtick. ==
Kind of reminiscent of Blago’s “blame George” schtick well into 2006, parlayed further in his race with JBT.
- Peanut Gallery - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 11:32 am:
The director needs to be gone. Like, yesterday.
- Almost retired - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 11:58 am:
Compliments to RNUG for a perspective that needs to be said. Not all social scientists or psychologist are against group homes and small institutions. Advocates can push family first etc. but that is theory and hypotheses not science about what is better or has less worse effects. There can be good places that are institutionally. I don’t think the State can find enough foster homes and adoptive homes. At least there is no evidence yet that it is possible to find enough.
- Friendly Bob Adams - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 12:00 pm:
Does anyone believe that DCFS is not trying to place the children in question? I agree with RNUG that the problem seems to be finding families willing to take on these young people that have some significant mental health problems. If no one is willing to take them on, it doesn’t matter much who the director of DCFS is.
- Anyone Remember - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 12:01 pm:
” … with a pile of blank checks … .”
SMH - this isn’t how the State of Illinois works.
- Merica - Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 12:01 pm:
wake up folks, it’s not just DCFS, the State agencies don’t work. It’s not JB, it’s not the Directors, it’s not the front-line employees, it’s a State where it takes 2 years and 500 steps to buy anything. Have you ever used Bidbuy before? a purchasing system designed with the same user interface as the 1998 version of Word Perfect.
Nothing is going to work until we buy a procurement system that works