CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A class-action lawsuit filed Thursday against the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) alleges that the agency has left children in jails unnecessarily.
When children appear before a juvenile court judge, some are issued what’s called a “Release Upon Request” order, which means they are free to be released to a guardian. In most cases, a parent will then take the child home.
The lawsuit alleged, though, that when a child is in the care of DCFS, the department — at times — has made a conscious decision to leave the child in juvenile jail.
“Locked up, for weeks and weeks, and even for months and months,” said Cook County Public Guardian Charles Golbert, who’s one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Golbert claimed this is a cost-cutting decision by DCFS, which bears the responsibility of placing the children in a safe and appropriate environment.
“Detaining children in youth and juvenile jails when they don’t need to be there is cruel, unusual, and a violation of our Constitution and laws,” Golbert said.
DCFS has not yet responded to WBBM’s request for comment.
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The allegations against DCFS include its treatment of Janiah Cane, another plaintiff. Lawyers for Cane said she was wrongfully incarcerated for 166 days over a one-year period, even though a “Release Upon Request” order was in place for all 166 of those days.
“DCFS left [Cane] to languish in juvenile jail,” the lawsuit reads. “Janiah has been diagnosed with ADHD, bipolar disorder, and depression. Janiah has a history of significant trauma, yet was unable to get the individual therapy, psychiatric treatment, and other mental health services that she needed while wrongfully incarcerated.”
According to the lawsuit, Cane lost her grandmother, with whom she was very close, while she was held in jail.
A number of individuals that work for DCFS were named as defendants in the suit, including DCFS director Marc D. Smith.
“Being called into court, I think, will force the change that they’re refusing to do, where they’re accountable to a jury and [are] going to be held personally liable,” said Russell Ainsworth, who spoke Thursday for the law firm Loevy and Loevy.
In addition to Golbert, Loevy and Loevy filed the suit on behalf of a number of children. They claimed that, while in DCFS care, they were left in juvenile jail even after a judge ordered them released.
“Every child who’s been in DCFS custody has had some trauma in their life at some point in time,” Ainsworth said. “These are our most vulnerable children. DCFS has known about this problem for years but refuses to do anything about it. So, today’s about accountability.”
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