Once again, the Chicago Tribune reports that the number of child abuse and neglect related deaths in Chicago continues to be high, only this time, the numbers may actually be the highest they have ever been. For decades, the ACLU of Illinois has monitored the Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) as a result of a consent decree aimed to improve the care and services for children in its custody. The consent decree outlined a limit to the number of cases a DCFS social worker can have, so that they are able to fully accommodate new child abuse and neglect cases. DCFS states that the new numbers may not be accurate due to the efficacy of their data collection process. The Chicago Tribune spoke with ACLU of Illinois' Ben Wolf: 

Benjamin Wolf, assistant legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said there's "no excuse" for a child welfare system not accurately tracking and disclosing such important records.

"I think the department has suffered from a revolving door of leadership in recent years," said Wolf, who monitors DCFS under a federal consent decree. "It remains a problem."

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