Today, Governor JB Pritzker announced that Marc D. Smith will be his nominee to lead the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and called for a thorough review of the agency.

The below statement can be attributed to Ben Wolf, Legal Director, ACLU of Illinois:

“On behalf of our clients and all children in Illinois, we welcome the Governor’s actions today to name a new DCFS Director and begin a comprehensive review of the agency. We hope to work with Mr. Smith to turn around an agency that repeatedly has failed to serve the children under their care, and failed to provide services to children based on scientific evidence, not wishful thinking and pre-conceived notions. 

It is time for a new era of reform, transparency and commitment to service at DCFS. We stand ready to meet with Mr. Smith and the experts as soon as possible to share a vision of how we can move forward for all the children in Illinois.”