Earlier today, the Illinois House concurred in the adoption of House Bill 4781 (the KIND Act). In response to the passage of this legislation by the body, the ACLU of Illinois responded. The following statement can be attributed to Nora Collins-Mandeville, Director of Systems Reform Policy at the ACLU of Illinois:
We applaud the General Assembly for passing legislation that will improve life for youth under the care of DCFS. Rather than simply decrying problems in our child welfare system, the KIND Act reflects positive changes that can be made when advocates, legislators and the Department work together to create good policy.
The KIND Act recognizes the decidedly positive role relatives play in the lives of children whose lives have been disrupted. Providing the same resources for family members to care for the child made available to foster parents who may well be strangers. We know that placing youth in the child welfare system with relatives lessens the trauma associated with family separation, reduces the number of times a child is moved, enhances permanency options if youth cannot be reunified, results in higher placement satisfaction for youth in care, and delivers better social, behavioral, mental health, and educational outcomes for youth than when they are placed in non-kin foster care.
We thank Senator Mattie Hunter and Representative Marcus Evans for their leadership in securing passage of the KIND Act. We encourage Governor Pritzker to sign the bill into law as soon as possible.