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* WICS TV…
As a result of our FOIA, we received a document showing DCFS and the company they hired, Jim Stewart Transportation, used either full restraints or leg restraints more than 25 times since 2017 [on children in their care]. […]
The log shows one transport, which took place on September 24, 2019, was from Benton, Illinois to Portsmouth, Virginia.
According to our search, the drive would take about 13 hours to complete.
The Cook County Public Guardian, Charles Golbert, who represents close to 6,000 kids in DCFS care, said this is unacceptable.
“It’s just outrageous and there is no justification documented on these documents at all. Not a safety justification, not a clinical, not even attempted to give any kind of rational and that’s because there is not any rational,” Golbert said.
Keep in mind here that full restraints means arms and legs are shackled with metal cuffs. DCFS has since said it will only allow “soft” restraints in certain cases.
* From the National Association of Social Workers’ lobbyist…
Like any half competent group the process of shackling was stopped once the media got wind of it. I want to talk about how did we get here? How did we get to the point where an agency that is charged to protect some of our most vulnerable youth - are actually abusing them? #twill
— Kyle Hillman (@kylehillman) December 3, 2019
DCFS is broken - that we can all agree on. @GovPritzker can’t keep standing on the sidelines waiting for a sense of urgency to sweep across this department. Sometimes we have to say we messed up and course correct. Sometimes Governor’s have to step in. This would be that time.
— Kyle Hillman (@kylehillman) December 3, 2019
Agreed.
* Hillman also told me via DM he suspects that DCFS was using shackles as a substitute for staff. “Instead of staffing these transports, they were cuffing and shackling kids,” he said. “That way they couldn’t get away at stops or lash out when dealing with the trauma of transport.”
“Imagine being a kid - taken from an abusive home - and then shackled in a van with a stranger,” he continued. “And they wonder why these kids have such bad outcomes.”
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 9:31 am
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JB took office almost 11 months ago.
Is it time to say governors own yet?
Comment by SSL Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 9:40 am
I also hope AFSCME takes a more aggressive stance in stepping up and pushing for their DCFS members to hold themselves to a higher standard.
Comment by NIU Grad Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 9:43 am
Governors Own.
Comment by Back to the Future Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 9:44 am
This is so sad. It’s even worse if any of these children are on the autism spectrum (and undiagnosed).
Comment by Downstate Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 9:47 am
(Sigh)
Governors own, they always do.
Instead of worrying if this governor owns too (he does), it’s time to hold accountable DCFS and this administration to do better and make right what is being discussed. That’s what it means… when governors own… same with *every* and *any* governor.
For me, as always, governors own is not only accountability, but that accountability to fix, make right, correct things needing his/her attention.
Here is one of those instances.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 9:49 am
Geez…even a dog in transport in a crate will get a comfy blanket. Sickening.
Comment by Skeptic Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 9:54 am
This isn’t as sexy as legalized weed, expanded gambling or $43B in capital projects.
This is messy and difficult and critically important. Fix it.
Comment by SSL Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 9:56 am
I want to know more- much more- about why DCFS was transporting these teens to other states.
Comment by Responsa Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 10:10 am
Responsa, that’s really not the most pressing issue here, but as I understand it out of state placements are usually at residential treatment facilities. As in the kid needs some kind of mental health treatment and there aren’t beds that will take them in the state, or aren’t a good fit for that particular kid.
On a related note, a lot of the kids that stay in the hospital past medical necessity also can’t find beds, so DCFS either keeps them in the hospital or finds beds in another state.
Comment by Perrid Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 10:18 am
Responsa and Perrid, it is a huge, pressing issue. DCFS officials in recent years dramatically reduced the number of residential treatment beds across the state before they had added alternatives outside of hospitals. As a result, children end up warehoused for months at a time unnecessarily in psychiatric hospitals and then often get placed out-of-state simply because there aren’t any appropriate placements available in Illinois. ProPublica has a remarkably well done series of investigative articles on the topic:
https://www.propublica.org/series/stuck-kids
Comment by Skokie Man Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 10:27 am
Skokie, I just meant that the (or at least my) immediate concern is the conditions the kids were moved in.
I probably should have phrased it differently, because yes, it’s a large underlying factor that causes a bunch of problems.
Comment by Perrid Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 10:30 am
I suppose the contractors doing the transporting are terrified that the kids will run away and come to harm that way. That would also bring criticism.
No, I’m not justifying this behavior. I’m saying that there is usually a reason for staff behaviors and it’s not that they went to work with a desire to harm children.
This sounds like a contract problem to me. And DCFS does have a contract office, I believe, responsible for developing and monitoring contracts. Where were they, over the decades. And the agency’s clinical staff.
Comment by Cassandra Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 10:39 am
== DCFS and the company they hired, Jim Stewart Transportation==
Jim Stewart Transportation sounds like a private trucking company that was chosen by bean counters at DCFS because their bid was 30% lower than a vendor experienced in transporting actual human beings. If I were a legislator on a relevant committee, I’d haul the agency’s procurement manager in to answer questions
Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 10:50 am
LHM, maybe. But the email from Jim Stewart Transportation to DCFS states that “it doesn’t seem that we used (restraints) nearly as often as we were probably advised it was needed.” We still don’t know who was telling them when it was “advised” to place children in shackles.
Comment by Skokie Man Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 10:56 am
I agree that it’s reprehensible.
But it’s also irresponsible to suggest that bad outcomes are the result of shackling.
Shackling is just one symptom of DCFS’s problems.
Comment by Stuff Happens Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 11:16 am
Those of you that declare restraints are unnecessary have obviously never been purposely scratched/gouged at your eyes, had chairs/shoes/etc thrown at your head, had the skin broken by these dangerous kids.
This is a very very complex problem that changing bus drivers is not going to solve. I don’t even think money can solve it, and am personally discouraged.
I suggest you have lunch with someone that works with these kids. It’s terrible, it’s sad, it’s scary.
Comment by cdog Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 11:20 am
== I’d haul the agency’s procurement manager in to answer questions ==
Oh boy, you’re going to have a blast learning about how RFPs work in Illinois.
Comment by Bean Counters gonna Bean Count Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 11:24 am
cdog, if you’re right and it was warranted in these cases, then they need to do a better job of documenting it because according to the article there was no reason given for the restraints.
Comment by Perrid Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 11:44 am
==cdog==
As a former foster kid, I find your classification of foster kids as “Dangerous Kids” dishearting. We are the children abused by our caregivers — neglected so much that the state removed us from our homes. Then we were placed into a system that would rather hire club bouncers then invest in trauma-informed staff. The majority of us have PTSD, and when those who are supposed to care for us decide that we are not worth it, how do you think we feel about them. I urge you to talk to foster kids about how they are treated.
Comment by James McIntyre Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 11:48 am
== Oh boy, you’re going to have a blast learning about how RFPs work in Illinois.==
Isn’t the RFP process something legislators should already be knowledgeable about? Despite sounding like a company that hauls steel I-beams on flatbed trailers, a quick perusal of the Jim Stewart website shows they specialize in large-scale transportation of people to convention centers from hotels and back again using large tourist buses. Oh, and also, “executive transport”. I highly doubt they use shackles and handcuffs in either of those settings.
I’d be curious to know if they were the only bidder for this service, and if so, why DCFS couldn’t transport these kids using agency personnel and vehicles. DCFS said the need for this type of transport was “infrequent”, so why the need to bid it out at all? And if the kids really weren’t safety risks, why couldn’t they spare a couple social workers and a state van for these “infrequent” trips?
Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 12:08 pm
== by these dangerous kids.==
Yes, cdog, please enlighten us as to the wisdom of the person you have lunch with. It doesn’t seem ridiculous at all that a random internet commenter frequently lunches with a person who has more experience dealing with kids in these situations than either Kyle Hillman or Charles Gohlbert, so please tell us more about these scary, scary monsters masquerading as abused children.
Comment by Lester Holt’s Mustache Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 12:19 pm
The problem is that Illinois will not fund the necessary staff and programs to function beyond a crisis level. The blame falls on the legislators that not only did not allocate enough funds, but cut spending to help cover deficits that were decades in the making. Let’s also not forget that residential beds were reduced due to media attention on residential practices. It is my understanding that DCFS will soon be able to receive federal funding for intact family services. I cannot wait until lawmakers use workers as pawns to recoup as much money per worker as possible while continually not allocating enough funds to hire enough staff.
Comment by exasperated Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 12:29 pm
===The problem is that Illinois will not fund the necessary staff and programs to function beyond a crisis level.===
This. So much this.
Comment by thechampaignlife Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 2:57 pm
@shemp. Please reconsider your characterization of abused and neglected children as “disturbed and demented human being that happens to be under 18.” This is dehumanizing and unfair — these children did nothing to deserve the original abuse or neglect, and they certainly should not be put in shackles because they have high needs as a result.
Comment by Andrea Durbin Wednesday, Dec 4, 19 @ 4:46 pm
James McIntyre, Andrea Durbin, Kyle Hillman:
Thank you for standing up for these DCFS wards.
I cannot believe that within 2 weeks time, we are again discussing how vulnerable children in Illinois are being abused by people who are employed by some form of local (school district) or state agency or contractor.
We wouldn’t do this to adults. Why is it acceptable to inflict additional abuse on children?
Comment by Lynn S. Thursday, Dec 5, 19 @ 1:17 am
If someone is seeking to have fun with FOIAs, might be interesting to check and see if these trips drive straight through from pick up to drop off.
Are the children fed and given bathroom breaks on these trips? (And where does the food come from?). If the children need medicine, is it administered, by whom, and with proper doses/procedures?
What is the length of time bus drivers and truck drivers are allowed be on the road, and are these trips following similar rules? (If not, why not?)
How long do the trips have to be before a second driver is required?
I hope I’m wrong, but my gut suspects the shackling may be one of the least abusive things these children face during these trips. I absolutely hope and pray my gut is wrong…
Comment by Lynn S. Thursday, Dec 5, 19 @ 1:27 am
No child deserves to be mistreated. DCFS needs millions more in funding to do their job accurately and protect children. Make it happen.
Comment by Chris Wright Thursday, Dec 5, 19 @ 8:22 am
Rich -
The system is beyond broken when the lobbyist for the National Association of Social Workers has to continually call the Governor out on Twitter in order to try to influence policy.
Why don’t the governor or his chief of staff have a direct, open line of communication with a key policy leader?
Answering that question is the key to fixing DCFS.
Comment by Thomas Paine Thursday, Dec 5, 19 @ 9:15 am