* Hannah Meisel…

BREAKING: Illinois Dept of Child and Family Services Director Marc Smith announces on an agency-wide call that he's resigning from the state effective Dec. 31. @CapitolNewsIL story TK from @bhundsdorfer and me. pic.twitter.com/2gFfmlaNtA

— Hannah Meisel (@hannahmeisel) October 4, 2023

* CBS Chicago…

Smith, who was first appointed to the post in 2019, announced his resignation during a virtual town hall meeting for DCFS staff.

“After having some discussion with my family, and people who are part of our system who are important to me, and the way we think about the work, I wanted to announce today that I will be stepping down as director of DCFS,” Smith said.

* WGN…

In 2021, WGN Investigates cited data from Cook County public guardian Charles Golbert’s office which determined 356 kids had been hospitalized longer than medically necessary in the previous year. The average stay was 55 days longer than deemed medically necessary, according to the data. […]

In a statement issued Wednesday, Golbert said in part, “DCFS Director Marc Smith leaves a mixed legacy. On the one hand, in serving for four and a half years, Smith brought much needed consistency in leadership after DCFS rotated through 13 different directors and acting directors over the prior ten years. … On the other hand, over four and a half years and despite the increased resources, Smith failed to substantially expand desperately needed placement capacity. As a result, under Smith’s watch, we started to see children sleeping on the hard, cold floors of offices instead of in a warm, comfortable bed in an appropriate placement for the first time since the 1990s. This is now happening to hundreds of children every year. … The placement shortage crisis is so bad that Smith holds the dubious distinction of being the only director in DCFS’s history to be held in contempt of court a dozen times for failing to place children appropriately in violation of court orders. … During Smith’s tenure, hundreds of children have died despite DCFS involvement. At least a dozen of these deaths were high profile in the new media. This is likely, at least in part, because DCFS still has a 20% vacancy rate for investigators. DCFS has been in violation of the investigator caseload mandates of a federal consent decree for many years. … So Smith leaves a mixed legacy.”

* Sen. Craig Wilcox…

“Here in McHenry County we have a constant reminder of the failings of DCFS, as the senseless and avoidable death of AJ Freund is never far from people’s minds. The problems at this agency are vast, and simply replacing the Director will not solve them. The fact that many of the findings in the most recent Auditor General’s audit of DCFS are repeat findings clearly illustrates the agency is not taking these findings to heart and making necessary changes, and the fact that the new report identifies even more problems than the last audit is unacceptable. Until our Governor recognizes the dire need for a structural rebuild of DCFS from the ground up, I fear it is only a matter of time until another child experiences a tragic outcome due to negligence by the agency that is supposed to protect them.”

* Sens Steve McClure and Sally Turner…

“Protecting and caring for our state’s most vulnerable children and families is an incredibly important responsibility of the Governor’s administration. As the recent compliance audit makes crystal clear, the issues with DCFS aren’t getting better, the situation actually appears to be getting worse. We hope the Governor takes this opportunity to finally fix the issues that plague DCFS and have led to heartbreaking stories of children waiting months for placements, or those who tragically have lost their lives.

“Unfortunately, the issues with DCFS go much deeper than one appointed leader, the problems are systemic. Governor Pritzker needs to undertake a comprehensive review of agency operations, prioritizing solutions that protect children who cannot protect themselves.”

* Sen. Don DeWittee…

“Having met with Marc Smith and members of his staff on many occasions, it is clear he recognizes the problems at DCFS run very deep. Unfortunately, our Governor has refused to make the same acknowledgement or take steps to fix this agency from the ground up. Changing the individual at the helm is not enough to fix DCFS; deep organizational changes are needed to prevent tragedies like the murder of AJ Freund of Crystal Lake from happening again. We need to seek national expertise and identify best practices from states that are doing a good job with the welfare of children, because the system in place in Illinois is clearly failing the most vulnerable children and families among us.”

* NASW IL…

Long overdue. Can we please get a replacement with a stronger moral compass, a sense of urgency the department demands, and an operational reform background. The next Directir doesn't have to be here for 10 years - they have to be here long enough to reform it. https://t.co/wtDPHyfyNd

— Kyle Hillman (@kylehillman) October 4, 2023

* House Minority Leader Tony McCombie…

“DCFS is undeniably a dysfunctional agency in our state, and immediate change is critically necessary. As children in our care and agency workers continue to be harmed or worse, the House Republican caucus will strongly advocate for common-sense proposals to structurally reform the functions of the agency. It is our duty to protect children in the state’s care.”

* Illinois Collaboration on Youth…

On behalf of the Board and members of the Illinois Collaboration on Youth, I want to thank DCFS Director Marc Smith for his service to our state. Director Smith is one of our longest- serving directors in recent memory and he brought much needed stability to our system.

When Governor Pritzker took office, Illinois was reeling from the wanton destruction of our health and human services system brought on by the budget impasse. Child welfare services are always a lagging indicator of the functionality of that system, and as predicted, the number of children and youth in care exploded following the impasse, putting an enormous strain on a system that had been neglected for nearly two decades. Governor Pritzker and Director Smith had only just begun to respond to this situation when they were forced to navigate the uncharted waters of a global pandemic. Illinois’ child welfare system had one of the best responses to COVID-19 in the nation; we salute their leadership in this area.

Thanks to the Governor and Director Smith, Illinois has seen five consecutive years of investments into the child welfare system to help it better cope with the growing population and the ongoing workforce crisis. We have also seen the implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act and the transition to YouthCare, as well as funding for capital expansion and building capacity in our residential treatment programs.

While there remains much more to do to improve outcomes for children and families, we are looking forward to the full implementation of the Governor’s Blueprint for Transformation, and continued collaboration with the new leadership to come.