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* DCFS officials testified at a Senate appropriations hearing yesterday about the agency’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget request…
DCFS Interim Director Debra Dyer-Webster said Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s budget request is intended to address many of the agency’s needs. It calls for total spending of $1.26 billion in the upcoming fiscal year, a $75 million increase over this year’s budget. That would be the largest single-year increase the agency has had in more than 20 years.
Much of the increase would be used to hire 126 additional investigators and case workers to ease the workloads on staff in local and regional offices around the state. […]
But Sen. Andy Manar, a Democrat from Bunker Hill, questioned whether the $75 million increase the administration wants would be enough to address the agency’s needs.
“The $75 million is the single biggest increase we’ve had in over 20 years, but it is only a first step,” said Royce Kirkpatrick, DCFS’s acting chief financial officer.
* Manar was not happy with that response…
Lawmakers questioned why they didn’t ask for all the money that they needed.
“We recite the names of dead children in this committee hearing once a year,” Senator Andy Manar said. “So why didn’t the department walk in the door today with the request that is necessary to operate the department for the upcoming fiscal year?”
All agencies testify about the official budget request that comes directly from the governor. Manar knows this, of course, but he also has a valid point. Shouldn’t DCFS tell the General Assembly exactly what it needs? That might make the governor look bad for skimping, but the Illinois State Board of Education presents its own budget proposal every year. Yes, it’s a quasi independent body with its own board, but it’s still not a bad idea.
DCFS has huge problems. So, what do you really need?
* And we may know some answers to that question in six weeks or so. As I was writing all of that, this popped into my in-box…
Building on a strong team of diverse experts in their fields, Governor JB Pritzker announced that Marc D. Smith, the Executive Vice President of Foster Care and Intact Services at Aunt Martha’s Health & Wellness, will be his nominee to lead the Department of Children and Family Services.
Governor Pritzker has also expanded expert services that the University of Chicago’s Chapin Hall already provides to DCFS, asking them to conduct an independent and comprehensive review of how the agency’s Intact Family Services unit functions, and has asked for initial actionable recommendations in the next six weeks. This will ensure that respected independent experts with a deep understanding of DCFS operations and challenges can provide immediate input to the new director and administration.
“The most vulnerable people in Illinois are the children served by DCFS, and we must provide them the best services that our state can offer, which means assessing and implementing the recommendations of child welfare experts,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Within six weeks, Chapin Hall will deliver a report to the new DCFS director with strategic recommendations for improving children’s safety and the quality of the services the agency is providing.”
Following the initial recommendations, Chapin Hall will also provide a more comprehensive review of policies, practices and procedures in the Intact Family Services Unit in order to make additional concrete recommendations for action. Chapin Hall will apply a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary systems approach and will survey several areas, including infrastructure supports like technology to determine if there are better ways to detect increased risk and prevent harm to children. A copy of their scope of work is attached.
Background
Marc D. Smith will serve as Director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Since 2009, Smith has served as the Executive Vice President of Foster Care and Intact Services at Aunt Martha’s Health & Wellness, Illinois’ largest provider of services to families in crisis. In the role, he collaborates with child welfare leaders, professionals, and other stakeholders to implement family-centered systems and practices that protect and support vulnerable children and families. Smith came to his most recent role after working for more than two decades as a social worker, trainer, and leader in child welfare. From 2004 to 2009, he served as a program administrator and recovery coach at Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities, where he managed the Child Welfare Division. Earlier in his career, Smith worked as a public service administrator for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services from 1993 to 2000. Smith has served on numerous boards, committees, and work groups, helping to shape policies and inform best practices in leadership and in the field. He has also led the development of program models that have increased the likelihood of family reunification, increased adoptions, and significantly improved the ability of workers and agencies to connect people with substance abuse treatment, mental health care, and other supportive services. A licensed clinical social worker and certified trainer, the Joliet resident received his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Illinois State University and a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The attachment is here.
…Adding… NASW-IL…
“The National Association of Social Workers, Illinois Chapter, is encouraged to hear that Governor J.B. Pritzker has selected Marc Smith, LCSW, for the role of director of the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS). As a licensed clinical social worker and leader in foster care services, Mr. Smith brings a deep understanding of the system and how our contracted services work. DCFS has numerous challenges that need to be addressed, and we stand ready to work with the new appointment in improving the outcomes of youth in care and those who are now alumni.”
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Mar 27, 19 @ 11:14 am
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==Shouldn’t DCFS tell the General Assembly exactly what it needs?==
I guess my question is ‘can DCFS actually hire & onboard 126 additional case workers during the fiscal year?’
Comment by OutHereInTheMiddle Wednesday, Mar 27, 19 @ 11:29 am
Unless CMS and AFSCME can agree on some personnel and hiring rules changes there is very little chance of getting 126 people hired and on board in a year. The state needs to create a caseworker trainee class for both DCFS and DHS caseworkers like DOC, ISP and Disability Determination Services have so there are always trained staff available to alleviate the turnover issues.
Comment by LTSW Wednesday, Mar 27, 19 @ 11:46 am
throw more money at the problem, excellent strategy.
Comment by Iggy Wednesday, Mar 27, 19 @ 12:12 pm
I wish him well. Glad he has experience inside and outside DCFS. It has its own culture.
He needs to make haste slowly. He will need to listen a lot, bring in some new people as Deputy Directors, and set a tone of urgency and professionalism. That is a tall order.
Comment by Last Bull Moose Wednesday, Mar 27, 19 @ 12:34 pm
Manar’s question assume DCFS knows what it fully needs—which I doubt. I’m sure they could use more funding—but there are also deep structural issues that need to be addressed, from the way hiring works to how we can hold staff accountable. I also think if legislators want to know how to begin to fix the kind of systemic longstanding problems agencies like DCFS suffer from—they should do more than just pointlessly ask agency directors what they need at an appropriation hearing. Manar’s certainly one of the better legislators in the senate—but this strikes me as empty grandstanding over the bodies of dead children, who the state (which includes the legislature) had a responsibility to care for and protect.
Comment by Interested Observer Wednesday, Mar 27, 19 @ 12:39 pm
==throw more money at the problem==
If you had any clue you would know that DCFS does require more funding to meet it’s mandate.
Comment by Demoralized Wednesday, Mar 27, 19 @ 1:11 pm
LTSW- DHS has a trainee position SSCT- Social Services Career Trainee
Comment by Honeybear Wednesday, Mar 27, 19 @ 2:17 pm
No, DCFS should not tell the GA what it needs. DCFS needs to tell the Governor what it needs. It is the Governor that presents DCFS’ budget to the GA, not DCFS. It is the Governor’s budget. DCFS has to testify base on the Governor’s submission. Manar has been around long enough that he should know the process and should know what questions to ask to find out if DCFS presented their full need to the Governor or not.
Comment by Nanker Phelge Wednesday, Mar 27, 19 @ 2:35 pm
To Nanker Phlege—you’re absolutely right. I’d add—it seems like the legislators who know how the process works are often the ones who ask these kinds of pointless questions to put on a show about how angry they are or how much they care.
It’s not just DCFS that is failing the children in its care. The legislature—particulalry in the appropriation process—has repeatedly failed to exercise meaningful oversight—particularly over agencies like DCFS that need it the most. Like I said above, I think Manar is good senator—which is why I’d hope he’d set a better example for his colleagues and not engage in this kind of cynical grandstanding. If he wants to improve DCFS—and I hope he does—he should work with the governor and the agency to understand what he can do as a legislator—bring as many colleagues along as he can to assist him—and get ready to dedicate himself to what will be years of frustrating but essential work to make DCFS into the agency this Illinois and the children it serves needs.
Comment by Interested Observer Wednesday, Mar 27, 19 @ 3:17 pm
Rauner was horrific to newer state workers and tier 2 is too. No wonder nobody stayed with their wages frozen.
Comment by The Dude Wednesday, Mar 27, 19 @ 7:26 pm