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During an Adoption and Child Welfare Committee hearing Tuesday,
lawmakers were told that Central Management Services first
screens candidates before DCFS goes through a similar process.
Raven DeVaughn with CMS said a new electronic application system
has cut down on the time it takes to hire qualified people, but
they aren’t where they want to be yet.
“While we have seen a reduction in overall times to hire since
going to electronic, our best estimate is that the full process
is taking 108 days,” DeVaughn said.
State Rep. Mary Flowers, D-Chicago, said DCFS is losing good
people because of the complicated hiring process.
“Rethink whatever it is that you’re doing here because this
reminds me of a clogged sink, and when the stuff backs up, it
stinks,” Flowers said.
The agency has been under fire in recent months. A report by an
inspector general showed 171 children died while in contact with
the department in 2022, 40% more than the year before.
Director Marc Smith has been held in contempt of court numerous
times for not properly placing children in a timely manner.
Despite claims that DCFS is close to fully staffed, state Rep.
Michelle Mussman, D-Schaumburg, said obviously DCFS needs more
people.
“But what we keep hearing about is that we have overburdened
case workers who have too many cases to really manage them
properly, they are burning out very quickly, they’re passing
cases on to other people who are already overburdened. There is
not information being passed on,” Mussman said.
DCFS receives $1.5 billion in state taxpayer money on a yearly
basis.
Kevin Bessler reports on statewide issues in
Illinois for the Center Square. He has over 30 years of
experience in radio news reporting throughout the Midwest.
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