The below statement can be attributed to Heidi Dalenberg, General Counsel, ACLU of Illinois:
“We applaud Governor Pritzker and Acting Director Marc Smith for their commitment to reform the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). We especially welcome their embrace of a process that is driven by data, by reason, and focus on improving the lives of children in DCFS care.
Some of the recommendations in the Chapin Hall report are clear and can be implemented immediately - for example, the recommendations for improving communication between investigators and intact workers.
At the same time, the report looks at just one facet of a complex child welfare system, and we should be deliberate and cautious in implementing more sweeping changes to ensure that they do not have unintended consequences that that do harm to children and families or make it harder to serve them. We look forward to working with the Governor and the Acting Director to reform a broken system.”
